Page 12 - the Noise March 2017 Edition

from left: John Schaffer filming laura Nadine for the Shadow Listener: A Voice for Autism; filming My Dad Matthew with matthew Wangeman, elijah Wangeman, matt Nelson, and mr. Schaffer. photoS by mike SolomoN & bibbi AbruzziNi
by jen turreLL
Movies can move us in ways that few other things can. It is an incredibly immersive experience between the characters, the setting, the dialogue, the images and the soundtrack. How often have you been in a theater, totally wrapped up in the action of a movie, only to look around, notice the heads of the people in front of you and suddenly realize that you are in fact still sitting in a theater? Exiting a theater can feel like coming out of a trance.
Movies are also a measure of the current cultural temperature. Which movies are the big- gest box office wins and which win Academy and festival awards in any given year says a lot about what we, as a society, are interested in and concerned about.
John Schaffer is a filmmaker who makes short films that can make a big difference. “I am a visual person and I work better in images and ideas than I do with words. I have always had artist friends and I never considered myself one because I am a terrible drawer, painter, sculp- tor or any of those classic categories of art. When I started making films, I realized that I was creating art because I was telling stories in a creative way and was trying to say something about humanity,” he says.
I first encountered Mr. Schaffer six years ago while he was making a documentary film called Vectors of Autism. At the time this film was of particular interest to me because I have two young daughters who had recently been diagnosed with autism. I was eager to learn more about the life experience of adult women with autism and what I might be able to expect for my own girls as they grow up. Not only did I learn a lot from the film and Laura Nagle, the subject of the film, but my two own girls ended up being briefly on screen when we were interviewed about our experience with young girls on the autism spectrum. Getting to know the crew and Ms. Nagle herself, had a profound effect on my family and helped us to settle into the new normal of our lives with less fear and trepidation.
When I asked Mr. Schaffer about the artistic choices he makes while making his films he said,“Take, Vectors of Autism, for example. People hear a documentary about autism and they have a preconceived notion that it might be slow and serious, but in fact the movie’s pacing is very quick and although it deals with some heavy topics related to autism, it is funny. It makes people laugh. It’s also a balance in the art to be able to create something that says we should see things a certain way without being preachy. You know? I want people to get what I’m trying to say, but I don’t want them to feel like they’re being forced to see something my way. Even the animation of Vectors I consider art. It was poorly crafted, I had to do it myself and teach myself how to do it, but I think the way it pushes the story along and ties so many of themes together, that it is art.”
In 2011 Mr. Schaffer co-founded Wild Asparagus Productions with Dr. Susan Marks, NAU professor, lawyer and special needs advocate. At the time Mr. Schaffer was working towards his MA in Special Education. He and Dr. Marks wanted to start making documentary films for social change. To date, he has produced 4 films with disability themes, all of which have had different budgets and crews, but all with a similar message of not just acceptance, but also appreciation for people with disabilities.
“The craft of filmmaking is important, but it is the art of storytelling that makes a good movie. I think the reason my movies have been well-received is that they tell a story about a somewhat familiar topic, but in a new way.”
The films have been very well received. Vectors of Autism received the 2013 Sedona In- ternational Film Festival Heart of the Festival Award, the American Association on Intel- lectual & Developmental Disabilities Media Award, the Superfest International Disabil- ity Film Festival Excellence Award, the We Speak Here online film festival People’s Choice Award, and the 2015 Picture This ... Film Festival Honorable Mention for Education.
Another of Mr. Schaffer’s films, My Hiccups Are Gone, won the 2016 Chagrin Documentary Film Festival Official Selection. This film is a story about twin 5-year-old boys with autism, Jake and Luke, whose parents, Lesley and Brad were frustrated with seeing years of little progress. They decided to move the family across the country to Ohio to receive specialized autism treatment and care using an innovative technique developed at Integrations Treat- ment Center. Within days, the boys showed incredible progress and the family learned how
to find their way. This feature documentary premiered in The Chagrin Falls Film Festival in 2016, and more screenings are planned.
When I asked Mr. Schaffer about filmmaking, he said “I’m an ideas man. I contemplate ev- erything and try to find ways to communicate thoughts in some kind of artistic way. This could be with an interesting juxtaposition of ideas, as with Vectors, using unusual camera angles to highlight a perspective, for example, My Hiccups Are Gone, which is filmed entirely at the eye level of a 5-year-old, using unexpected music to give a particular vibe; or telling a story in a nonlinear way, that keeps the audience wondering where the movie is heading.
Another of Mr. Shaffer’s films, Shadow Listener, is a short documentary about a woman who hears a constant soundtrack in her mind. Just as everything casts a shadow, so too can they cast a song. Laura Nadine is an award-winning violinist, music teacher and mother of two. She is also a woman with autism. This documentary uses Laura’s shadow songs as a thread to explore her world. It takes the viewer through her difficulties to fit in with peers at school to her obsession with the violin and tells her story as a woman on the autism spectrum. As an adult, Laura has found her place as a music teacher and advocate for the autism community.
Mr. Shaffer’s most recent film, My Dad Matthew, is a short film in which a young boy named Elijah tells the story of his dad, Matthew. Elijah describes him as a “pretty normal dad,” but unlike most other dads, he has a significant disability. Matthew Wangeman was born with cerebral palsy and is unable to control most of his body. With the use of a wheelchair, a point- er on a helmet, a letter board and the help of others, Mr. Wangeman has earned multiple degrees from the University of Berkeley, California, become a deeply respected instructor at NAU and the father of a remarkable boy. At one point in the film Elijah even admits that there was a time in his life when he asked when he was going to get his own wheelchair, just like Dad.
“With My Dad Matthew, we received a grant with the specific instructions to create a movie that turns the perception of disability upside down. Obviously, Matthew’s story does that on its own, but nearly everything else in the movies challenges some basic perception about disability. For instance, not many people in the public would suggest that it is attitudes that disable people rather than some inherent impairment the person has. Even the idea of ac- ceptance, which is pretty universal and easily understood (if not followed) we turn slightly upside down by suggesting we need to not just “tolerate” people with disabilities, we need to appreciate them for who they are and what they bring to this world.”
The idea that what people with disabilities need is not just acceptance, but also apprecia- tion and the support necessary to be able to contribute as much as others do to society, in their own way, is an important message. In an article that Mr. Wangeman wrote in 2013, he talks about the idea of helping others to overcome his disability. That is helping others to overcome their preconceived notions and attitudes about what it means to have a dis- ability. Those preconceptions and attitudes can and often do limit the activities that people with disabilities are allowed to participate and ultimately limit their possibilities of success in the world. As Mr. Wangeman has proven with his own career, and Mses. Nagle and Nadine as well, with proper supports and appropriate accommodations, many with disabilities can surprise the general public with just how successful they can be. And this is one of the many sides of disabilities that Mr. Schaffer wants a wider audience to see.
My Dad Matthew will premiere on Feb 23, at 7PM at the NAU Cline Library Assembly Hall. The movie will be preceded by 3 short films. A discussion with Matthew and his son, Elijah will occur afterwards. The event will be streamed live online at the Wild Asparagus Produc- tions Facebook page.
To learn more about Mr. Schaffer, his films and Wild Asparagus Productions, go to:
WildAsperagusProductions.com
12 • March 2017 | the NOISE arts & news | www.thenoise.us