The Reason I Jump

In 2007, 13-year-old Naoki Higashida from Japan wrote the bestseller The Reason I Jump, which gave an insight into his world as a non-speaking child with autism. In this documentary of the same name, the award-winning filmmaker Jerry Rothwell uses the power of cinema to portray these intense, sensory worlds. The result is intimate portraits of five non-speaking autistic young people - young people who experience reality in different ways and who have learned to express themselves anyway.

In a maelstrom of thoughts, feelings, impulses and memories, Naoki gradually realises more and more what his autism means to him, how his perception differs from that of others and why he does what he does. Almost like a road map in his brain. "To me autism is normal. I can't be sure what your normal is even like." Every person - with or without autism - feels the need to communicate and not being able to talk doesn't mean there is nothing to say.