Screening as part of the Always on my Mind short film collection during the 2016 Indy Film Fest, Jill Jones' Spectrum: A Story of the Mind is a live action and animated documentary about autism and sensory issues that explores underlying sensory differences in autistic minds. The film observes, using such experts as the always wonderful Dr. Temple Grandin along with author Tito Mukhopadhyay, artist Judy Endow and martial artist Nick Walker, that sensory issues create a world where vision, sound, smell and taste can be intense. At times rather appropriately jarring in presentation, the documentary combines 2D animation, painted stop motion animation, high-speed live action footage AND time-lapse photography within the confines of its 24-minute running time to create a colorful, chaotic and rich experience.

As the filmmaker notes, rather than fearing autism, Spectrum seeks to understand it.

Screening on July 17th at 1:15 pm in DeBoest Lecture Hall at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and on July 19th at 3:30pm in the same location, Spectrum is an informative and visually arresting short doc that takes challenging material and presents it in a way that both entertains and educates. The film's experts and interviewees are framed well and accompany Jones' use of animation quite nicely throughout the film's breezy 24 minutes.

If you get a chance, definitely check it out.

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic