ABOUT THE CREATORS BEHIND THE FILMS
Lauren L. Cissé (She/They) – 17
Lauren is a Writer/Director/Producer of many successful short films such as ‘Losing Teeth’, ‘Do I know you from someone?’ and’ 17 which have also been selected respectively for Cinecity Brighton Film Festival – in two separate years. Their recent film ’17‘ details themes of sexual assault in a raw 14 minutes that were debuted at London Rocks Film festival and screened at Lift-Off Film Festival.
She aims to continue to produce films that say something different and disrupt the system, whilst working on her career as a screenwriter first and foremost.
Instagram | @laurenxlouise_
Jordan Minga (He/They) – IN JOY, SEEK PEACE and BLACK BRITISH SUN
Jordan Minga, is an Artist, Poet, and Tinkerer who grew up Black British African in London. He is from Peckham, South London, but heritage-wise, is a first generation Ugandan in the UK. His poetry reflects his lived experience; he was diagnosed with Autism at 9 years old, and has never felt like he has fit in; until now.
He wants his creative work to help people define themselves; he is introspective, and that nature goes into all of his work.
Instagram | @mingting_mania
Moneer Elmasseek (He/They) – THE RAVEN
Moneer is an Actor/ Writer from East London. It is his goal to inspire change in the world through art by encouraging empathy towards others and opening peoples eyes to the worlds of other people. Both their hardships and their joy. Moneer has several acting credits to his name, most recently as Thomas Barrow in Netflix’s “The Lost Pirate Kingdom” and he is currently in post production of a non profit feature film. Being autistic, there are many things he has said to not understand about people, like the things they do and the reasons behind them. However he believes there is a goodness in the hearts of many, one he believes will hopefully save the world one day.
Instagram | @moneerelmasseek
William Aldridge (He/Him) – SIDIS
William Aldridge is a filmmaker and a Creative Professional and has been in the film industry for over ten years. Starting in 2012 as part of a school play, William at 14 was the lead cameraman for a small production called Doctor Who The Nightmare School. Since then William has acted in six YouTube Web Series and has directed over 20 short films some of which are lost and some are set to be remade. His notable work includes The Fan Fiction of Doctor Who, SIDIS The Genius Lost In Time, Lance in London, The Time Cube, and Imaginary Exploration.
Instagram | @william_j.p_aldridge
Gwen Rathbone (She/They) – DO I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEONE?
Gwen Rathbone is a Transgender non-binary Writer and Director who has recently graduated from Screen and Film School with a BA Hons in Filmmaking with her graduate film ‘Do I Know You From Someone?’ being selected for film festivals such as Outreels Cincinnati LGBT+ Film Festival, London Rocks Film festival and Brighton CineCity Film Festival. ‘Do I know you from someone?’ is a short film that puts transgender people and stories at the forefront both behind and in front of the camera. Gwen has since gone on to write and direct their upcoming short film, Desmós, which centres around Greek mythology, whilst delving into themes such as generational trauma and existentialism. Gwen is also a storyboard artist in between writing and directing and really values visual arts as a creative medium.Gwen is also an autistic filmmaker who strives to break down boundaries in inclusive creative environments.
Instagram | @purplemirror_art
Anna Cottrill (She/Her) – TEACH ME
Anna is a 22-year-old recent film school graduate. Anna has been commended by many for her unique and quirky ideas, with a special interest in exploring people’s perspectives and stories through the medium of film and animation. Complimenting her creativity is her passion and drive for delivering educational and informative award-winning documentaries. Anna’s latest animated short ‘Teach Me’ explores the topic of SEN in school through the children’s own voices. The documentary came from an exploration of her own school experiences where she felt different and misunderstood, unaware at the time of her own neurodivergence. It wasn’t until after the creation of Teach Me that she was diagnosed with ADHD.
Instagram | @anna.cottrill
René Lorraine (She/Her) – ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE
René Lorraine is an aspiring documentary director and proud to be a Black British woman. Her goal is to be able to create content for audiences that explore and spark conversations about topics that people are usually too scared to approach, this has been shown in her debut documentary about autism, One Piece of the Puzzle which has been screened internationally at festivals. She is prepared to bring forward stories that people are typically too afraid to approach. Ideas that are fuelled by her own and others’ hardships, to amplify the voices similar to her own – Black voices, female voices, disabled voices, the voices which are sometimes forgotten and now, more than ever need to be heard.
Instagram | @renziiefrenzyy
ABOUT THE NEURODIVERSE CLUB | @theneurodiverseclub
The term neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways. The Neurodiverse Club sees, appreciates and celebrates these differences with the aim to show neurodivergent individuals they are not alone. Created by neurodiversity advocate, René Lorraine, their aim is to offer the representation, education and tools needed to show people what it means to be neurodiverse in an effort to eliminate the ostracisation of those who are different. Despite the name, The Neurodiverse Club is for neurodivergent and neurotypical people alike to come together to eradicate the outdated view of what it means to be “normal” for a more inclusive tomorrow.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL AUTISTIC SOCIETY | @nationalautisticsociety
The National Autistic Society is the UK’s leading charity for autistic people. Since 1962, they’ve been transforming lives, changing attitudes and helping to create a society that works for autistic adults and children. They transform lives by providing residential and day services for adults, schools, diagnosis and other services, and they provide support, guidance and practical advice through our website, branches and helplines to 10s of thousands of the 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK, as well as their three million family members and carers. They change attitudes by improving public understanding of autism and the difficulties many autistic people face. They also work closely with governments, local authorities and businesses to help them provide more autism-friendly spaces, deliver better services and improve laws.
