THE AGE OF AUTSIM DOCUMENTARY FILM
by Detour Pictures, Inc.
The first official case of Autism in the US, was little Donald T., in 1938.
The condition, as then described by Dr. Leo Kanner, “differs so markedly and uniquely from anything reported so far, that each case merits - and, I hope, will eventually receive — a detailed consideration of its fascinating peculiarities.”
What is the relevance of this historical moment, in comparison to our modern sensibilities?
This project fuses the observations of the past and the tools of the present to paint a broader picture of what Autism meant then, and what it means now.
This project fuses the observations of the past and the tools of the present to paint a broader picture of what Autism meant then, and what it means now.
The Age of Autism is based on the book of the same name, by Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill.
This project will be Scaled to accommodate the actual budget.
About the filmmaker:
photo by Tom Lowe (e-book: The Crew)
R. L. Barnes
Barnes made the recent film, 50 Cents A Dose, about the use of mercury-based Thimerosal in Medicine (www.50centsmovie.com). It was released on FMTV, the GAIA network and other online venues. His 90s indie-feature, The Enquirers, was the NW Spotlight Feature at the Seattle International Film Festival and received national video distribution (remember video stores?).
As a Crew-Producer/DP, he’s shot approximately 70 episodes of business programming for Fox Business Network and Block Consumer News. Similarly, he's shot projects for the Federal agencies of NOAA, the TSA and the DOD.
As a cinematographer, his work has also appeared on Discovery, MTV, VH1, A&E, HBO, The Travel Channel, regional PBS affiliates, etc.
Early on, he was the film-editor and one of the co-creators of the award-winning, The Cowboys-Please No Talking trailer, which played on nearly every theater screen in America and garnered a spotlight on the NBC Nightly News with Dan Rather.
His industrial film career has taken him to weapons-grade laser facilities and the halls of medicine, to the assembly-lines of ice-cream sandwiches. He also holds the rare distinction of being a 2nd Unit DP, and an actor, on the same film (you’ll have to ask him how that went). That black-and-white, feature film, Milk of Amnesia, was recently re-released on Amazon.
Barnes is also a self-described, 2nd-rate recording artist, and his original music can be heard on Spotify, iTunes, etc., under the artist name Barnes-Bar-B-Q.
Project Advisor:
Mark Blaxill
Mark is the father of a daughter diagnosed with autism, Chairman and co-founder of the Canary Party and Health Choice, Editor-at-Large for Age of Autism, a former director of SafeMinds and a frequent speaker at autism conferences. He writes often on autism, science and public policy issues for Age of Autism and has published a number of articles, letters and commentaries on autism in journals such as Public Health Reports, the International Journal of Toxicology, the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Neurotoxicology and Medical Hypotheses. He has co-authored three books with Dan Olmsted: The Age of Autism: Mercury, Medicine and a Man-made Epidemic, (Thomas Dunne, September 2010) and Vaccines 2.0: The Careful Parent's Guide to Making Safe Vaccination Choices for Your Family (Skyhorse Publishing, February 2015) and most recently Denial: How Refusing to Face the Facts About Our Autism Epidemic Hurts Children, Families—and our Future (Skyhorse, 2017).
Mr. Blaxill earned an M.B.A. with distinction from Harvard Business School and an A.B. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
Mr. Blaxill earned an M.B.A. with distinction from Harvard Business School and an A.B. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
Mark is also co-founder and Executive Director of XLP Capital, a firm founded in 2015 and focused on technology strategy development, advanced data analytics and technology-based investments. Before starting XLP, Mr. Blaxill was a co-Founder and Managing Partner of 3LP Advisors, a firm focused on IP strategy development, patent transactions and IP-based investments. Previous to the launch of 3LP in 2008, he was a 25-year veteran of The Boston Consulting Group, where as senior vice president and partner, he headed the firm's Strategy Practice and recruited BCG’s core IP Strategy team. In this role, he launched the firm's Intellectual Property practice, developed proprietary tools for technology analysis, and co-authored BCG's first patent application.
He is the co-author of The Invisible Edge: Taking Your Strategy to the Next Level Using Intellectual Property (Portfolio, 2009), which was named Best Strategy Book in 2009 by a leading business journal. He has been named one of “The World’s Leading IP Strategists” by IAM Magazine. Mark credits that honor to XLP’s unique integration of the quantitative analyses of technology, patents, business and financial performance.
He is the co-author of The Invisible Edge: Taking Your Strategy to the Next Level Using Intellectual Property (Portfolio, 2009), which was named Best Strategy Book in 2009 by a leading business journal. He has been named one of “The World’s Leading IP Strategists” by IAM Magazine. Mark credits that honor to XLP’s unique integration of the quantitative analyses of technology, patents, business and financial performance.
Post Production Consultant / Visual Effects:
Brian Burrowes
Brian is a Canadian producer, editor, motion graphic and visual effects artist who resides in Austin, Texas. Burrowes has worked in film and television, producing, editing and creating visual effects for feature films, documentaries, and numerous television commercials for clients ranging from ESPN to Time Warner Cable.
As a cinematographer he has filmed behind the scenes for Troublemaker Studio’s productions of Predators, Spy Kids 4 and Sin City 2, as well as second unit photography on Bright Shining City Production’s Deeper and Deeper. Brian first teamed up with Andrew Wakefield and Polly Tommey as co-producer and editor of the award-winning documentary Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis?, and then in 2016 for Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe which was an official selection at Tribeca Film Festival before being controversially pulled from the lineup, and releasing to sold-out audiences at the prestigious Angelika Film Center in Manhattan, and across the country.
In 2018, Burrowes co-founded Tommey Burrowes Productions with Toby Tommey and set about directing Vaxxed II: The People’s Truth, the sequel to Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe.
Editor / Editorial support:
Claire Dooley
I was raised in McComb, Mississippi. Growing up, I spent my spare time making home videos on a VHS with my family and friends, and in 2015 co-founded a photography and videography business. Following an internship at The Highwire with Del Bigtree, I put aside my studies as an Art Scholar at Millsaps College and pursued a career in film.. After being mentored by Ralph Madison in New Orleans, I went on to be an editor and cinematographer of Vaxxed II: The People’s Truth in Austin, TX. In 2019, Andrew Wakefield brought me onto the team of the documentary 1986: The Act as the main editor.
As of 2021, I had the pleasure of joining up with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.‘s Children’s Health Defense Films to produce Infertility: A Diabolical Agenda. Between Peace and War follows the People's Convoy movement in early 2022. I am currently a one person film crew creating documentaries for Daily Clout, created by Naomi Wolf. Monthly, I host the show Good Morning CHD.