AANE’s Fall 2024 Virtual Daniel W. Rosenn Symposium – Autism and the Movies, 10/25/24

Becca Lory Hector, Director of Training AANE (She/Her) is an openly Autistic Professional on a mission to close the disability gap in leadership by working with companies to attract and retain disabled talent. Becca was diagnosed Autistic as an adult and has since become a dedicated autism and neurodiversity advocate, researcher, consultant, speaker, and author. She is an animal lover with a special affinity for cats and spends most of her “free” time with her many animals, her husband Antonio, and her Emotional Support Animal (ESA), Sir Walter Underfoot. 

Izabelle Azevedo is a late-identified Autistic Visual Storyteller who uses her high level perception and pattern recognition to deliver stories that spark conversations while entertaining. She started Red Skirt Media in 2019, and is currently focusing on pre & post production and studying Film & Media at Towson University. Her first short film, Purple Heather, is based on her own experience growing up not knowing she is Autistic. Her second short film, the documentary My New Normal about Long-Covid POTS, will be out in March 2025. Izabelle also shares her thoughts on social media and on her blog Cloudful Drive.

Christine Bélanger is a Touretter, Autistic, All-Around Neurodivergent Award-Winning Writer, Producer, Graduate of Toronto’s Second City Conservatory Program. Her collaborative and award-winning animation “Superhero, Inc.” was recognized by Reel Canada as 1 of 4 “recommended viewing” films for Disability Pride Month in July of 2024. She has written and associate-produced kids’ TV on national networks (In Canada) “Dream It To Be It” and “#Couleurs Du Nord.” She is an educator and has held the first “Creating Inclusive and Accessible Productions” at the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers Toronto. Bélanger is currently developing 2 series featuring Autistic characters.

Elaine Hall, Founder of The Miracle Project and star of HBO’s Emmy Winning film Autism: The Musical, is internationally recognized for using the arts to enhance quality of life for neurodivergent individuals, and is one of Hollywood’s first Access Coordinators. Recently, Elaine consulted on the film EZRA, starring a twelve-year-old autistic boy along with Robert De Nero. Elaine identifies as neurodivergent, and has an adult autistic son who communicates with AAC. Together they are committed to changing the media’s representation of disability – moving from ‘inclusion’ to ‘belonging.’ They are both featured in Scott Steindorff’s new film, Understanding Autism. 

Scott Klumb is an award-winning filmmaker. He is a storyteller, cinematographer, and editor, knowledgeable in a wide array of film styles, including documentary, where he creates artistic films with meaningful stories to captivate his audience. Scott has found a passion for filmmaking, pursuing his talent both professionally and in his free time. Scott’s films have been in dozens of festivals across the world. The notoriety has been encouraging but Scott’s primary focus is to encourage others and to continue his growth as a filmmaker. Scott is currently working on his first feature film, Autism Ability.

Scott Steindorff is an American television and film producer, executive producer, writer, and autism advocate. Steindorff was born in Minnesota, then moved to Arizona during his childhood. He attended Arizona State University with a double major in theater and business. At age 35, he decided to become a producer. In 1998, Steindorff formed the film production company Stone Village Productions. He has produced or executive produced Station Eleven, Chef, Jane Got a Gun, Las Vegas, The Lincoln Lawyer, Penelope, and many more projects. Understanding Autism, a documentary interviewing researchers and people with autism spectrum conditions, was directed by Scott and aired on PBS this past March.

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