Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. Today I will be taking you through a project I took part in way back in June with MamaYouthProject and Licklemor Productions, and it’s now available to view online. So without further ado, here is my journey of this brilliant day:
The First Phone Call:
Back on 17th June, I got a message from an incredible creative called Joseph Lindsay, who wanted a chat with me about a new project I applied for on Mandy. In the brief they were looking for neurodiverse individuals looking for love, and following my success of Unmasked (where got can read all about the screening here: https://www.theautisticactress.com/post/my-first-film-screening-making-my-directorial-debut-known) I had to take up on the opportunity, as I want to continue making something good out of something bad!
When the phone call commenced, it was a really positive thing to hear. I got a glimpse of what was install, and even spoke to the person who wanted this project to happen in the form of Jayen Shukla. The reason why he wanted to do it and the backstory was heartbreaking to hear, and it made me even more determined to get involved. Yes it wasn’t a paid gig, but for a topic like this money didn’t matter, as it’s to raise awareness at the end of the day.
Filming Day:
The Meet Up:
When I got to King’s Cross I didn’t know what to expect. But there I met him, the brilliant Joseph Lindsay. He definitely was a cool creative, as his chilled laid back personality and passion for what he does really did shine.
On the way there he gave me a brief about what will happen, the questions and also asked me about questions in the area of romance. This was a good way to form an ice breaker and to also get to know the creative behind a key pad. And after his journey to get to where he is today (some of which I won’t say due to it being personal to him), he is the definition of making something good out of something bad. And the area we went to as seen below was beautiful and more chilled than some of the areas in London. And yes it was blistering in the warm weather, but at least it wasn’t raining.
On Set:
When I got the the set it was very snug. It turns out it was Joseph's parents house. And you know what? I didn’t mind at all! As it saves money and it was a very homely environment. The crew were all very lovely, as I met the camera crew, sound woman, Danielle who was another member of the team, a director in the form of Bob, who was one cool dude and the type of person you would want to be friends with, and of course Jayen, who came up with the original idea in the first place. I could see in his eyes why he wanted to do this project, and I could tell he had reasons behind it all. I won’t say what as it’s abit personal, but I’m glad that he told me, as then we can both agree on how hard it is for neurodivergent people like ourselves.
During the recording of the actual piece, there was one moment where I got abit emotional. I was worried that the crew would see it as attention seeking, but it all felt genuine. But what I said in there was all true, and when you watch the video, you can see why I got emotional.
Afterwards:
At the end of the shoot I didn’t want to leave. It was over in a flash and everyone was just so lovely to work with. Even Bob who after asking if I've been on camera before, said that income across very natural, which means a lot to me.
On the walk back, Joseph praised me for my participation, and saying that Bob would ever give me good feedback if he didn’t mean it. We also chatted about all of our experiences through previous acting jobs and also my experiences at Belvoir castle (and we had some funny tales to tell). I also found out he auditioned for a big reality tv series looking for dancers (which I won't say but all I can say is it's a show where you need to "keeep Dancing"), and he was also a member of the National Youth Theatre, and when he mentioned about how they could maybe help with my film, I definitely took it into consideration. He is definitely a creative I want to work with again, as his drive and passion for what he does just says it all about him as a person.
The Final Product:
As of 24th September the film was officially out! It took me nearly a week to watch the whole thing mainly due to a cold I was suffering from, but I’m glad I watched it when I did. I did watch some segments of it, but when I watched it properly, some of the stories were just inspiring. And it’s interesting to see how a neurodivergent couple understood each other and what to do when things get too overwhelming. And they were just a living example of how when you meet the right person, finding love as an autistic individual is not impossible.
And that was my blog on this most amazing day! As I'm writing this I am still very very single, but I hope that this video will help people to understand the challenges, and then they can work with us not against us if they want to make a romantic connection work. Please see the link to the full video where you can see for yourself the realities of finding love as an autistic individual and also see the couple who show that it’s still possible. Please also see the link to the MamaYouthProject donation page, where the money you give will help creatives from under represented backgrounds develop their skills to gain employment in the creative industry!
Link To Film: https://youtu.be/x-Sl06K_aAw?si=vwiKie8b6kRz394V
Link To Donation Page: https://www.justgiving.com/mama-youthproject
See you soon for another blog. Until next time…
This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)
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