The action takes place somewhere in Britain, Five autistic artists (Sam Chown Ahern, Georgia Bradburn, Benjamin Brown, Robin Elliott-Knowles, Lucy Walker), also known as the Neurocultures Collective, join forces with audiovisual artist and filmmaker Steven Eastwood in order to create an out and loud film experience.
The activities are rambunctious, and the performers are undaunted by their neurological makeup. A young man proudly announces the next addition to his b-movie cineclub: a film so degrading that guests are invited to leave the theatre before the screening begins (in case they cannot stomach graphic schlock). A woman of around the same age sees the world in geometric fashion: dots pop up across the screen, and a couple of lines join them, illustrating the non-linear thought patterns of an autistic person. Tub-thumping music and surrounding noises envelope another woman with a sense of comfort and protection, just as she uses the treadmill.
In the most powerful scene of this 67-minute documentary, a female character practices her contortionist dance-crawl moves. The superbly intimate moments are captured by Gregory Oke’s camera spinning precipitously. It feels strangely beautiful and liberating. There’s enough twerking to make Jarvis Cocker jealous. It is often in the most bizarre movements and cacophonous environments that these autistic artists encounter redemption. These are super sensitive human beings – they can often hear noises from a distance and become promptly agitated. And they find enjoyment in places most of us would perceive as unbearable.
The movie wraps up in vertiginous fashion, inside the titular stimming pool – an empty swimming pool where our lovely characters and filmmakers can dance, grunt, twitch and wriggle. A free zone where they can what they want. In a cat costume even. Just don’t try to make much sense from the action. This is therapeutic filmmaking for the neurodiverse. A synesthetic experience intended to confound viewers.
This British endeavour is not dissimilar to French documentary and Golden Bear winner On the Adamant (Nicolas Phillibert, 2023), a non-linear doc about mental health patients toying with creative arts on a Parisian daycare centre.
The Stimming Pool is in selected cinemas across the nation on Friday, March 28th.
