Benjamin

The concept behind my graduation film, Benjamin, is one that is very personal and therefore carries a lot of meaning to me and to my whole working crew. It is inspired by my own experiences of having an Autistic brother. Growing up, I did not always understand him, especially because he was and is so different. A doctor once explained to me that his brain is wired differently to mine. My brother, Dean, only started speaking at the age of three and very minimal language.
I was the witness to most of his successes in life, as well as the downs. After receiving his diagnosis, some family members were supportive and understanding, while others remained close minded and merely uttered “the only problem is that he’s not getting enough hidings!”. Dean went through emotionally dark times when he developed depression caused by this rejection he experienced from society for something he could not even help or control. Living with a sibling on the spectrum was not always melancholic, the amount of joy he brought into our family’s
lives is immeasurable. The different ways of his thinking has opened my eyes in ways I would not have by myself. His imagination and creativity is simply inspiring and most of all, he has always been a brother to me despite his shortcomings. That is exactly what I wish to say with this film, having a disability does not make you any less human. I want to show that individuals on the spectrum feel emotions and experience life like we do and often more intensely than we do because of their sensitivities. However, they do not show it and that is where people’s misinterpretations and misunderstandings often stem from. The making of the film was not without any challenges in pre-production. However, our experience on set reminded
me why I wanted to be a director in the first place. We all had a great dynamic as a crew, we knew where we wanted to go and what we wanted to achieve, which made everything so much easier and enjoyable. Benjamin is the product of sleepless nights, a lot of tears and sweat, but mostly the commitment and hard work of a talented bunch of people.