Last week, ‘Our World, 2030’ won a prize at The Smiley Charity Film Awards.

Daisy, our Research Communications Manager (who plays a neurotypical bully in the film), reflects on the process of developing Our World, 2030, and why working with neurodivergent people helps create something new, different and exciting.

Last year at Autistica, we tried something new. In the 20 years of the charity’s existence, we’ve never had a hero film: something that says, ‘This is what we’re about as a charity and here is our vision.’ But that was about to change.

We approached the charity film specialists Neck of The Woods, to see if they would take on the project with us. And, to our delight, the team were as excited as we were.

We’re a small but mighty team at Autistica, working towards six visionary Goals for 2030 to enable all autistic people to live happier, healthier and longer lives. We have a lot we want to achieve as a charity, so had a huge amount to squeeze into a two-minute film.

We also needed to be creative with our approach to the concept. Unlike other charities we're not working to end an illness or save a landmark of public significance; we're working to change attitudes. Being autistic is a different way of experiencing and interacting with the world, it’s a neutral thing. However, in a world that isn’t neuroinclusive, autistic people have shorter life expectancies, more health difficulties, lower rates of employment and higher rates of mental health problems than non-autistic people. The inequalities autistic people face are pervasive. We needed to present the very real challenges of navigating the world as an autistic person, but not disempower the community while doing so.

We approached autistic people and family members from our Insight Group and Autistica Network to shape the film. Specifically, people with experience in acting, or filmmaking, or we had worked with previously on campaigns. As a fellow neurodivergent, I wanted to ensure our steering group had a positive experience, felt included, and that their voices were heard throughout the process.

The steering group had a massive impact on the film. Through several online meetings and questionnaires, they elevated the concept from good to great. The group wanted an all-autistic cast that reflected the diversity of the autistic community. They had brilliant attention to detail, sharing their insights and ideas for the different scenarios for the film’s protagonists. And they weren’t afraid to speak up and metaphorically hold our feet to the fire when they thought we had fallen short – autistic honesty at its finest!

We didn’t want non-autistic actors playing autistic protagonists, so we cast the film ourselves. Or rather, I cast it, with zero casting experience and sheer determination to make it work. I sent a casting call to the Autistica Network, which has 17,000 autistic people, family members and autism researchers and received dozens of expressions of interest. I invited a select few for an online "screen test", where I asked them a few questions (sent in advance) and they acted out a line from the film. Because I’m a big softie, I wanted to cast everyone, but I prioritised people I thought would be most comfortable on set.

A film set isn’t the most autism-inclusive environment: bright lights, changeable schedules, lack of quiet spaces, and did I mention bright lights? To help make things more inclusive, we created thorough briefing documents, so people knew what to expect. Some autistic people struggle with uncertainty, so we gave as much information in advance as possible: photos of the space, anticipated timings, bios of who would be there on the day, payment details, and even what food we were providing.

After three filming days and three rounds of feedback, we finally had a film. I was nervous to put it out in the world. My anxious brain focused on the areas where I thought we had fallen short: the groups of people we didn’t represent, the parts where I wished we could tweak the wording or adjust the pace. But once it was released reading the comments on YouTube made me realise we’d pulled off everything we set out to achieve and more.

The filmmakers, Neck of the Woods, suggested we nominate ourselves for the charity film awards. After the public vote, we were shortlisted for the final.

As our wonderful line manager Analiese is reaching the end of her maternity contract, she thought the awards would make a great comms team outing. So, the four of us donned our fanciest dresses and headed to the Indigo Room at The O2.

We were delighted to be shortlisted for the Smiley Awards in our category, but with 22 brilliant charity films in the £ 1-2.5 million income bracket, we weren’t certain we’d win. We thought we had a reasonable chance of a silver or bronze in our category. When our names weren’t called out for either, my heart sank. But then Anton Ferdinand, who presented the award, started talking about his godson’s neurodivergence, and the importance of research, and it dawned on us that we had won.

As our comms team is comprised of four neurodivergent women in varying degrees of diagnosed and self-diagnosed, there were a few involuntary ‘Oh my gods!’ and various expletives as the penny dropped. We couldn’t contain our excitement. Several heads turned in response to the kerfuffle before our charity name was announced.

Then, as our film was shown, we headed towards the stage. I was in too much shock to hear, but apparently, the judges said they “loved this film”, saying it “explains humanely and respectfully what it’s like to be neurodivergent” and that it “breaks down the clichés of charity filmmaking”. High praise indeed!

Then, the four of us were shepherded through a not-so-neuroinclusive process of hugging strangers, posing for photos, and then heading backstage to have a microphone thrust in our hand to answer questions on the spot. As we hadn’t expected to win, we hadn’t prepared, so we took turns to garble adrenaline-fueled nonsense to the camera. As a comms team, we’re much more comfortable on the other side of the camera.

As neurodivergent people, one of our many strengths is divergent thinking. We’re the innovators, the dreamers, the changemakers. We don’t want the same old. We want to shake things up. For all my anxious nighttime thought spirals about what could go wrong, I needn’t have worried. A huge collaboration from a creative neurodiverse team was bound to cut through the noise, have an impact and make something different. Thank you to every single person who got involved. This film was a huge effort from so many people. This recognition of our hard work feels exhilarating.

Now that more people have seen our film and what we are trying to do, we’re excited to work with you to help achieve our Goals. This film clearly lays out our ambition, but it’s going to be a team effort to pull this off and create a kinder and more inclusive world by 2030. So, I ask you to join our Autistica Network, get involved in research donate, fundraise - whatever works for you. We’re not going to achieve our visionary Goals without you.