AN AWARD-winning documentary exploring the experiences of young autistic people from around the world is to be screened in Wotton under Edge this month.

The Reason I Jump (12A) will be shown at the Electric Picture House Cinema, with one screening – on Sunday 11 July at 3pm – in a special ‘relaxed’ format designed to accommodate the people who inspired it.

Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of non-speaking autistic people from around the world.

The film blends Higashida’s revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.

Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps.

The film distils these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.

The film’s director, Jerry Rothwell, said: “While no film can replicate human experience, my hope is that The Reason I Jump can encourage an audience into thinking about autism from the inside, recognizing other ways of sensing the world, both beautiful and disorientating. I hope the film takes audiences on a journey through different experiences of autism, leaving a strong sense of how the world needs to change to become fully inclusive.”

The film is showing twice.

The screening on Sunday 11 July at 3pm is a relaxed autism friendly version, in which the film will be accompanied by a special subtitle stream which will include both subtitling of dialogue as well as warnings of potentially challenging or difficult moments within the film itself. These warnings will focus on moments that could be challenging from a visual, aural, and emotional perspective.

There is also a screening of the standard version on Thursday 15 July at 7.30pm. Tickets can be booked in advance at wottoncinema.com, or by calling 01453 844601.