Heavy Load

Director: Jerry Rothwell

Year: 2020

Based on the book 'The Reason I Jump' written by Naoki Higashida, a non-verbal autistic Japanese boy. Translated from Japanese in 2013 by acclaimed novelist David Mitchell, the book is now a worldwide bestseller, offering an illuminating and life-enhancing guide to Planet Autism – a planet that has very different laws from the one most inhabit. <br /> The book, written when its author was unknown and only 13, is now a bestseller in 27 languages, and has become one of the world’s most widely-read guides to Autism, offering an extraordinary passport to another world.<br /> The book's question-and-answer format gives a remarkable insight into the thoughts and feelings of an autistic person who cannot talk; a Rosetta stone that allows us to hear what it’s like to be autistic. This feature documentary is a cinematic translation of the experiences revealed in the book, weaving Naoki’s writings around stories of non-verbal autistic people across the globe, immersing us in their unique sensory worlds, full of intensity, richness, and beauty - and sometimes shadows and terror.<br /> Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2020 - World Cinema Documentary Competition - World premiere<br /> Grierson Awards 2022 - Winner - Best Single Documentary – International

Director: Jerry Rothwell

Year: 2015

In 1971, a group of friends sail into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world's imagination. Using never before seen archive that brings their extraordinary world to life, 'How To Change The World' is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement.<br /> Sundance Film Festival 2015 - World premiere

Director: Jerry Rothwell

Year: 2012

Town of Runners is a feature documentary made by award winning director Jerry Rothwell about young people from the Ethiopian rural town of Bekoji, home to the current Olympic and World champions Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele.<br /> The film follows three children keen to follow in their heroes’ footsteps, as they move from school track to national competition and from childhood to adulthood. <br /> Set against the background of the seasonal rhythms of this farming region, and the impact of increased urbanization, climate change and globalization on agriculture, the film shows rural young Africans striving to make their own future.