A Day At Primary School For The Girl With The Curly Hair
The Girl With The Curly Hair isn't naughty - she's confused and other people don't understand her. The school day is very challenging. Watch the video to see if you can see why and consider what simple adjustments could be made in order to resolve things. Always remember that everyone is different. This film is about The Girl With The Curly Hair. Everyone experiences their autism differently.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Alis Rowe
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
My organisation, the curly hair project ltd, delivers autism training. I thought having a film to use in the training would be a highly effective way of teaching.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You might be interested in learning how someone who is autistic might experience a ‘normal’ day.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The character, the girl with the curly hair, is based on me. In order to develop this film, I spoke to a few teachers and children of the age of the character in the film to get some ideas on what she might be feeling and thinking (I don’t really have much memory of being that age!).
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
This really was the pilot episode. I had no experience in scriptwriting or filmmaking at all when I started this project so it was all a bit rough and clumsy! I learned so much and ongoing now I’ve done a lot of things differently and feel I’ve greatly improved! I’ve got a much stronger feel for the character now which I am taking forward in the rest of the series. I’ve learned a lot about character depth. We’ve made the process of filmmaking much more efficient too.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
People can really empathise with the girl with the curly hair character. They see the importance of the film, especially for showing education professionals who have the greatest chance of making a positive (or negative!) difference to someone’s life from a young age. I have had some feedback from some autistic people who say that they wouldn’t feel the same way as the girl with the curly hair but my answer is, well why would they? Everyone is different. The girl with the curly hair is an individual, just as we all are.
I had one person say that they were disappointed it didn’t touch on one particular aspect of autism. Autism is a massive subject and in short films I can’t cover everything, nor would I want to. Each episode will touch on different aspects but I want to stay true to the character too – she has many traits that will show consistently throughout the series; and there will be some traits that people might consider to be 'autistic traits' that she won't have.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
In terms of the story, I’m always open to hearing other people’s points of view because it helps me see how other people might experience the world too, so I become a more aware and considerate person. However, I want to stay true to my character the girl with the curly hair. The films are after all about her.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
It’s a wonderful channel for people to read this interview so that they can read the backstory to my work.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I’m looking for all of the above. I’m looking for animators especially to help take this project forward.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope it’s an important educational tool for everyone. I’d like anyone who watches it to see how a normal day that most people just consider very ordinary can be experienced very differently by someone else. It’s a reminder that we all have our own unique experiences of day to day life and consequently individual needs. Someone who appears “naughty” or “difficult” on the outside may not deliberately be behaving in this way – that behaviour can be the result of genuine misunderstanding. Once people have a better understanding of what is going on in a person’s head, that behaviour suddenly makes complete sense and the person is seen in a different light!
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
The girl with the curly hair didn’t have a diagnosis of autism when she was at school. How might having a diagnosis of autism made a difference? Would it have made a difference? Why does it have to take a diagnosis for someone to be treated differently?
Would you like to add anything else?
Please visit www.thegirlwiththecurlyhair.co.uk/animated-films for more information
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We’re working on episodes 3, 4 and 5 in our series of 10!
Interview: September 2018
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
A Day At Primary School For The Girl With The Curly Hair
The Girl With The Curly Hair isn't naughty - she's confused and other people don't understand her. The school day is very challenging. Watch the video to see if you can see why and consider what simple adjustments could be made in order to resolve things. Always remember that everyone is different. This film is about The Girl With The Curly Hair. Everyone experiences their autism differently.
Length: 11min
About the writer, director and producer: Alis Rowe is an award winning author and entrepreneur from the UK. Her social enterprise, the curly hair project ltd, supports people on the autistic spectrum and the people around them.
Key cast: Animator: Charles-Jean Boucher
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Social media handles:
Facebook: thegirlwiththecurlyhair
Twitter: curlyhairedalis
Instagram: thegirlwiththecurlyhair_
Funders: Self-funded
Made in association with:
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? On our website www.thegirlwiththecurlyhair.co.uk/animated-films