Autism: The Musical

In 1980, autism was a relatively rare disorder, diagnosed in one in 10,000 children in the United States. Now it is one in 150. The dysfunctional brain and nervous system of people with autism traps them in their own self-absorption, limiting their ability to take in what the world offers and to communicate back

Autism: The Musical counters today's bleak statistics with one woman's optimistic pledge to lead a group of children with autism in defying diagnosed expectations by writing, rehearsing and performing their own full-length musical.

Following five Los Angeles children over the course of six months, director Tricia Regan captures the struggles and triumphs of their family lives and observes how this musical production gives these performers a comfort zone in which they can explore their creative sides. Once these children step out of their inner worlds, they learn to work together, moving from chaos to collaboration, rising to not only express their own inner lives of self-awareness, but to connect with each other.

Both on and off stage, Autism: The Musical is a call-to-arms, bringing attention to a modern-day epidemic, all the while celebrating the way the human spirit can overcome any challenge.

Trailer

Credits

Director/Producer/Cinematographer: Tricia Regan
Producers: Perrin Chiles, Sasha Alpert
Executive Producers: Jonathan Murray, Joey Carson, Janet Grillo, David S. Glynn, Kristen Stills
Editor: Kim Roberts
Composer: Mike Semple
Running Time: 94 min.
Website: www.autismthemusical.com

About the Filmmaker

TRICIA REGAN is an award-winning director, producer and cinematographer of documentary film and television. Her film work has been theatrically distributed and broadcast on five different continents and in six different languages and includes A Leap of Faith, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1996, and Soldiers Pay (2004) which she co-directed with filmmakers David O. Russell and Juan Carlos Zaldivar. For television, Regan directs, produces and shoots for ABC, Fox, NBC, MTV, VH1, Lifetime and TLC. This is Regan's first feature film cinematography credit.