• Release year: 2024
• Directors: Sam Ahern, Georgia Kumari Bradburn, Benjamin Brown, Steven Eastwood, Robin Elliot-Knowles and Lucy Walker.
• Producers: Steven Eastwood and Chloe White.
• Cinematography by: Gregory Oke.
• Music Department: Tom Haines.

Shotgun Commentary: upbeat story with tons of information about neurodiversity and fun fantasy inserts.

Review

The Stimming Pool is a documentary that follows the lives of a group of neurodiverse people who are brought together by their love for film. The intersection between neurodiversity and cinema, offering an incredible opportunity for integration and community building.

Not as hard as the system makes it look

In a world that seems to strive to keep them separate from the rest of society, The Stimming Pool is a great example of integration and community as it should be: for everyone. The documentary follows a group of young people with a great deal of imagination and drive to tell a story, their story. Together, they create a sci-fi tale much like the ones in B-movies with Nazis and zombies. A fun group project that showcases their more artistic side.

However, the documentary also gives you a chance to follow them separately, which provides a lot more insight. This is one of the best ways to help integrate neurodiverse people into mainstream social environments. A lot of people remain ignorant as to what a neurodiverse person is or how to engage with them, leading them to simply avoid or ignore them. Films like this one improve inclusivity and representation, highlighting the topic of neurodiversity and getting conversations started.

Art for change

During their lives outside the filmmaking club, at least two of the protagonists are also part of a positive change towards a more accepting society. One of them has written a book about a dog with superpowers who saves people. Its behaviour and superpowers are related to common characteristics of neurodiverse people.

With the book being for children, this is a great way for neurodiverse kids to feel understood and included. On top of that, it’s also a fantastic resource for non-neurodiverse children to understand neurodiversity from a young age. This can help end bullying and other abusive behaviours derived from ignorance and fear of anyone different.

As for the other protagonist, he has a film club with his father. They screen B-movies from time to time to those among their community interested on the subject or on going out and socialising for a bit. It is beautiful to see a person with issues socialising connect completely with others in an environment that is comfortable for him, enjoying and fitting right in despite living in a world designed to exclude him. Once again, this is proof of how a community and finding your people can totally make a difference.

Chaos and honesty

Moving on from the great envy that not having a B-movie club produces, the film has some interesting editing choices. Not much is explained about certain scenes that could use some context, and some moments that feel pretty personal are recorded up-close and detailed. For instance, there are plenty of shots of each of the characters sleeping in the middle of the night. These moments bring you closer to the characters as real individuals rather than just fictional people on your TV. Nevertheless, the line between good content and not giving the subjects any privacy is slightly blurred.

The bold content is organised quite chaotically in the movie. More like bits and bobs that end up forming a collage that makes sense at the end, rather than an actual narrative with a clearly identifiable structure. This gives you doubts about whether you’ve missed anything from time to time since, as previously mentioned, some bits could do with some context. The chaos makes you pay extra attention to make sure that you are not missing anything, but it is a pretty tiring way to watch something.

All in all, The Stimming Pool is a documentary that highlights how arts can be used as a conduit for inclusion. It shows different contexts in which neurodiverse people get integrated in social activities and groups. While the editing is chaotic, the positive tone of the piece doesn’t fail to put you in a great mood.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Imagination can solve more problems than you think.
• Ignorance is the enemy of tolerance.
• Dancing in an empty pool looks a lot more fun than you might think.

What’s your take? Have you watched The Stimming Pool? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀