"The Reason I Jump," reflecting nonverbal autism disorder, best documentary at #LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival

One more year science had its great expression on the big screen. Spectators of all ages, authorities, teachers, schoolchildren, media, university students, etc., gathered there to show, once again, that science belongs to everyone and can be exciting.

The III edition of the international scientific film festival #LabMeCrazy! organized every year by the Science Museum of the University of Navarra, was held in Pamplona from February 21 to 25, and brought together the best audiovisual productions on science, as well as a series of activities to bring science closer to the public.  

Bienvenido León, director of the festival, highlighted the good reception of the public in this new edition: "We have seen some magnificent films on various topics such as, for example, the arrival of man on the moon or cancer research. And the parallel activities have been great fun: we have looked for urban fossils or invasive species in our rivers, with a good participation of people. This week has been a party in which we hope we have managed to awaken a passion for science".

The final awards ceremony, which was held yesterday at 7:00 p.m. in the theater of the Museum of the University of Navarra,was attended by Alberto Vivó, researcher and disseminator, who acted as master of ceremonies and introduced the winners of the different categories.

The award for best documentary went to "The Reason I Jump", an 82-minute British-American production that takes a different look at autism. The best television program went to the German production "World of Viruses"; the best student production was the Costa Rican "Moon Landing"; the best work produced by universities went to "The Artificial Revolution"; while the best video on the web or social networks went to the American producers of "The Science of an Extreme Animal Athlete". CSIC researchers Luis Enjuanes, Mariano Esteban and Vicente Larraga were awarded the "Passion for Science" prize for their scientific career and for leading the Spanish COVID-19 vaccine projects. Public recognition went to the "GastroCiencia" program of the University of Murcia.

The awards ceremony was also attended by Juan Cruz Cigudosa, Minister of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Government of Navarra; Ana Elizalde, Deputy Mayor of the City of Pamplona; Pello Bayona, Director of Navarra companies in Laboral Kutxa; Isabel Bistué, delegate of the University of Navarra; Lluís Montoliú, researcher at CSIC; Bienvenido León, director of the festival, and Ignacio López-Goñi, director of the Science Museum of the University of Navarra. At the end of the award ceremony, the winning film in the documentary category was screened.

#LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival has received in its third edition 1,371 productions from 104 countries. The final jury was made up of professionals from different disciplines: Rebeca Fernández, sales director of Off the Fence (Netherlands); American filmmaker Jaime Jacobsen; Mónica González Alonso, PhD student at the University of Navarra; scientist and popularizer Lluís Montoliú; and Samuel Negredo, professor at the School of Communication of the University of Navarra.

"The Reason I Jump": "I never dreamed this was possible".

"The Reason I Jump" -a documentary based on the book "The Reason I Jump" by Naoki Higashida-narrates the non-verbal autism disorder, through the testimonies of different families with children suffering from this mental condition. 

The documentary shows the difficulty experienced by people with nonverbal autism in a world of which they are part but which, nevertheless, does not understand them: their brain is not capable of ordering memories chronologically; they perceive reality in a different way; they become obsessed with different experiences; they feel frustration for not being able to express what they feel; they may experience a sense of uselessness; they react physically to feelings of sadness and happiness; and sometimes they may show aggression. In the documentary we see, for example, this testimony of a case of nonverbal autism: "My mind is constantly oscillating from one side to the other. Wherever I am, I am never at ease".

This production also narrates the difficulties faced by parents who have children with this type of disorder, as they sometimes do not know how to act, but above all they express concern about the uncertainty that the future holds, i.e. not having the guarantee that the world to come will take care of their children.

The film also tells of the advances that science and society have made with respect to non-verbal autism, such as the possibility of expressing themselves through the spelling of words: "I never dreamed that this would be possible", says one of the testimonies in the documentary.   

Jim Fujiwara is an 11-year-old boy who suffers from non-speaking autism and is the protagonist of the film "The Reason I Jump". At the awards ceremony, his father, Peter, highlighted the service that science provides to human beings: "Thanks to a better understanding of autism and recent scientific advances, Jim has been able to make himself heard and now communicates through a specialized application on an iPad.

"The Reason I Jump" is an excellent example of how science and technology can help solve specific problems of citizens. In this case, enabling communication for children with non-verbal autism.