Rene S. Duran is a documentary filmmaker who works in television post production in Los Angeles. He was co-producer, cinematographer and writer on STREET DOGS OF SOUTH CENTRAL, a documentary picked up for distribution by Lionsgate and scheduled to air on Animal Planet and the Oprah Winfrey network in 2012. Rene has also worked on television shows such as NANNY 911, HELL’S KITCHEN, THE BACHELOR, BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET, and most recently with Jennifer Lopez and Marc Antony on Q’VIVA: the chosen. Rene majored in The Studies of Images & Narratives, a special studies major that he designed himself with his advisor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster Pennsylvania.

We wanted you to get a chance to hear more from this talented visionary who shared this film experience as part of the crew as the Director of Photography for The United States of Autism Movie.

Question: Why did you become involved in the US of Autism film project?

Rene:  I became involved with the US of Autism because I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to capture the stories of families across America who experience autism on a daily basis & share their courage with the rest of the nation.
Having been friends with Rich & Sugey since the college days I was honored when they asked me to join the US of Autism team. I believe in them and was delighted to contribute in the making of the documentary film.

Question: What was the biggest thing you took away from being involved in the project?

Rene: The biggest thing I came away with from working on this project was being able to see the resilience and strength of the families who live with autism. I was inspired by them. They stand as a testament to what is good in humanity. It was such a wonderful experience to be invited into their homes & share their lives with us.

Question: Did you have any knowledge of autism and related conditions before becoming involved?

Rene: My first hand knowledge of autism came from being friends with Rich & Sugey & knowing their autistic son Tommy. My knowledge of autism came from watching Tommy grow up and knowing his story.

Question: What was a “typical” day like on the road with the crew?

Rene: While filming the US of Autism there were typically two types of days that the crew experienced. The first type was shooting days. On these days the crew would rise early in the morning, get ready, and drive to the location. I always looked forward to spending the day with the families.

The second type of day the crew experienced were driving days. We saw many beautiful and breathtaking sunsets as we drove west from Pennsylvania. At every state border the crew would stop and film themselves dancing in front of the state sign. It didn’t matter the time of day or night. The crew was determined to dance across America.

Question: What projects are you working on currently?

Rene: I am currently working as an editor the show Q’VIVA the chosen & am in preproduction on the first of three short films. I will be making fairy tales. The first is set in South Central Los Angels, the second is a love story in the desert, and the third will be shot in Mexico & explore indigenous folklore.

It was a privilege to work with Rene on this project.  He played an enormous role in cementing the vision for this project–arduously working alongside Director/Producer Rich Everts.  We are excited to share their vision with all of you soon!

Jamie "Boots" Marshall

Meet Jamie “Boots” Marshall. Officially she is credited as being our Creative Guru & Artist for the film.  What exactly that means is that for many long and patient days (our Director is a bit of a perfectionist) Boots designed all the artwork that you see on the film’s website as well as all the artwork you will see in the film itself (there are a bunch of animations in the film) and on our official t-shirt!

For those of you that have come to recognize our anthropomorphic puzzle piece “person” through The Tommy Foundation for Autism, it’s ever changing form to conform to the specific event we are having is all thanks to the creative genius you see to the left of your screen.  She originally designed that character for us and has subsequently changed its form for events ranging from talks, walks, sensitive santa and of course the film itself!

Boots is an in demand artist whose work can be see online on sites like Boots Draws, Boots Tees and GoodJoe.  She is a 2000 graduate on Franklin and Marshall College which is incidentally where we first met her and fell in love with her work and her, of course.

When asked why she partook of this particular project, she responded with the following: “I’ve known Rich and Sugey (and Tommy) for years, and they are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Their dedication, hard work, and huge hearts inspire me every day. When Rich came to me and asked if I could contribute to the film he was making, the answer was an immediate “yes.” I knew it was going to be something great. Not only because the project sounded immensely intriguing, but because The US of Autism is a film that needed to be made. And now that it’s finished, I am so proud and humbled to have been a part of it.”

We are so excited to have someone of Boot’s caliber involved with the film and hope all our fans will enjoy seeing her work throughout the film!

One of the 50 Most Inspiring

We are super excited to announce that one of the individuals featured in the upcoming “The United States of Autism” film, has been named among the 50 Most Inspiring Autistic People of 2011 alongside folks like Temple Grandin herself!

Alex is the founder of Wrong Planet, one of the largest and most important communities for people with Asperger’s syndrome and autism.  He is also the producer of Autism Talk TV, which is a media effort supported by Autism Speaks.

Next up, Alex will be seen in New Jersey for the upcoming ASPEN Spring Conference on April 29, 2012. ASPEN (Asperger’s Syndrome Education Network) offers professionals the opportunity to join us at meetings where speakers are scheduled and provides Professional Development Hours to those who attend. ASPEN is registered with the NJ Department of Education as a Professional Development Provider.

Congratulations Alex and keep up the hard work!

If selected the film will be screened at the 11th Annual Tribeca Film Festival which will be held between April 18 – 29, 2012.  This would be fantastic as it would be held during Autism Awareness Month!

Our whole team and the families involved are super excited to be one step closer towards getting the film out to all of you.  Thanks for joining us in this amazing journey!

Yet, many of you out there keep asking us when the film will be ready. You keep asking about how can you get a hold of a copy of the DVDs or how you can help promote the film. Well, we are incredibly excited to bring you the latest update about the United States of Autism film, and we’re going to give you a quick behind the scenes of where we are!

Also, starting November 1st, we begin the United States of Autism Money Bomb, where we try to build the final pieces of our award winning production and get our submissions ready for the Tribeca Film Festival. Stay tuned here for the link.

Here’s some behind the scenes, and we can’t wait to show you more!

“Did you know that Disney World employs over 55,000 people and covers 47 square miles?” I would say, interrupting whatever conversation was going on.

As a girl with Asperger’s syndrome, facts were highly significant to me, especially if they involved Disney World. I always thought that others would be thrilled to hear them too. Sometimes people were interested in hearing the facts, but not when I went on and on about them, as I was prone to do.

“Simple-minded,” people would say. “The girl is simple-minded.”

Imagine their surprise when I came out with a 111,000 word science fiction novel that was so detailed and complex it received the Rising Star award. I called it Warriors of the Edge: The Search for Stone (Amazon | Barnes and Noble).

“I had no idea you had all that inside you,” people told me. “Where did you get all these ideas?”

How did I go from being simple-minded to highly complex? It happened because I loved Disney World so much. It wasn’t enough for me to visit it every few years. I wanted to experience it every day. And so I talked about it, dreamed about it, and wrote about it nearly every day for twenty years. After that much time, you’re bound to develop some complex thoughts on the subject, even if you started out rather simple-minded. Those thoughts evolved until I had created my own futuristic theme park, which became the premise for my novel.

There’s nothing wrong with being simple-minded. You can develop a wonder for life that way. But complexity has its benefits too. It helped me write an entire novel. — Katie Bridges

This was an exciting opportunity for the 2012 election candidates to start becoming aware of autism and the role it will play in the election.  We’re also very thankful here at the United States of Autism to have the help of Lin and her family in helping to put this in place. While we can not always be out there at every event, the passion and commitment of all our families can play a key role in moving this film forward. Thanks Lin!

Be sure to Buy Your United States of Autism T-Shirts Here!

Stay tuned for more in 2012 as our film about the best of America as seen though the eyes of families affected by autism comes out, and the US election comes into focus. Coincidence? It sure seems like somebody might have been planning this all along…

Be sure out there what once you get your t-shirts to send us the pictures so we can post them to the world!

Sam Wessels showing off his new United States of Autism T-shirt

The first pictures of the United States of Autism t-shirts on our fans came in from Iowa and the Wessels family. Be sure to check out the gallery below as their son, Sam, models the shirts for us.

Doesn’t he look great?

We think so, and we’re proud to have him as the first of many showcasing t-shirts from around the nation.

Be sure to send in a picture of you and your t-shirts from around the nation and we will post your pictures to our blog. You can purchase your t-shirts here:

Buy a T-Shirt

Be sure to send us pictures of you in your United States of Autism T-Shirt as we’re creating a blog post of locations around the world where we can find people wearing our shirts! Feel free to forward them to info@usofautism.com, and be sure to tell us where you are, and when the picture was taken. We can’t wait to see more from around the world!

Buy an Official T-Shirt Now!