Robin Elliott-Knowles, now 24, started programming the monthly B-Movie Fan Club at the Electric Palace Cinema when he was 13 years old.
Robin, who has autism, is involved in a recently released film, The Stimming Pool, made by a group of five neurodiverse artists and filmmakers.
Here, John Knowles, Robin's father and one of the Electric Palace staff members and long-term volunteers, shares the origins of the film and how its promotional tour has been going.
What is The Stimming Pool?
A new film created by autistic people.
When Robin was originally asked to be involved with the filming of The Stimming Pool, we had no idea how involved, intense and extensive the project would be. Nearly four years later and with the film festival season well under we are still being taken aback.
For those of you who don't know much about the film festival circuit it is a strange world of announcements you can't make, of rigid rules around general releases and if you are lucky and an endless rollercoaster of invitations and Zoom meetings!
The Stimming Pool is a feature length film which has been categorised as a documentary (film festivals do like to categorise), but, is in actual fact a documentary feature hybrid.
It was created by five neurodiverse artists/filmmakers, working alongside Steven Eastwood from Queen Mary University and Chloe White from local filmmakers Whalebone Films (who specialise in documentaries).
The Neurocultures Collective, as they are known, are: Sam Chown-Ahern, Georgia Bradburn, Benjamin Brown, Robin Elliott-Knowles and Lucy Walker.
What happens in The Stimming Pool?
The film weaves together narratives from the neurodiverse artists and filmmakers, who explore a range of autistic responses to the world. But make no mistake, this is no 'autism explained' or 'let's look at autistic people' film. This is something more wonderful, it's a film about being.
The reason it is doing so well is that filmmakers are captivated by the cross-over approach and audiences love the pace and mystery within the piece.
How has The Stimming Pool promotional campaign been going?
It began in Copenhagen, at DOCX Film Festival, where the whole team was invited to the world premiere of the film and since then it has been shown in: Iceland, Camden - Maine USA, Sydney, London (London Film Festival at the BFI), Leeds, Folkestone, the Barbican London. We have also been invited to South Korea, Brazil, Hungary and our next stop, Florence!
Suddenly Robin and the team are facing audiences in amazing cinemas, giving opening speeches and addressing Q&As from film experts and the general public.
It can be daunting to say the least and the team supporting them has been mindful of their need for space and to be able to say 'no'.
And maybe that is also why the film worked so well, all of the team had a say in how the film was made, with listening and support at its heart, nobody was ever in a situation that they couldn't handle and NO was always an option.
Back to the circuit. Suddenly these autistic artists are front and centre and autism is being discussed not as a problem but as a creative driver. The artists who also feature in the film are not the subject of the film, they are the film, the creative force behind it.
What are some of the challenges the team has experienced along the way?
I won't lie, it has been stressful at times, navigating Robin's anxiety alongside the voracious needs of the press and festival teams. But it has also been amazingly rewarding.
Robin's opening speech in Copenhagen took us all by surprise and his 'anti Brexit' joke had the entire cinema in laughter.
You never quite know what you are going to get with five autistic creatives facing the public and it can be challenging, but this is a film which challenges itself to think differently and it succeeds.
We all long for the day when Lucy, one of the team, turns up in her full dog costume - that should be one for the press to feast upon!
When can our Electric Palace Hastings audience see The Stimming Pool?
The Stimming Pool will be coming to The Electric Palace Cinema in early 2025 (as part of our Autism-Friendly series), when it goes on general release. I am sure an intro speech, Q&A and all will be part of the mix. The Electric Palace Cinema features in The Stimming Pool as do other local venues and spaces.
In the meantime Robin, who already programmes the Electric Palace's B-Movie Fan Club, has also been programing the Autism-Friendly, relaxed, neurodiverse season of films (with the outside in film as a connecting narrative) which began with the French film 'Amelie', and continues with the following screenings (more to be announced in January):
Ed Wood, plus short film
Sunday 15 December 2024, 11.30am
Story of low-budget Hollywood director Edward D. Wood, Jr., whose notoriously "bad" cult films made cinema history. With a lack of any obvious talent Edward D. Wood Jnr sets forth to fulfil his dreams to be a film director making 'Glen or Glenda?' (USA/1953) and 'Plan 9 from Outer Space' (USA/1956). He is a man with passion for his art, if not the reality to make it a success.
Playtime
Sunday 12 January 2025, 11.30am
Before Mr Bean there was Monsieur Hulot who innocently creates chaos wherever he goes, leaving a trail of mishaps and accidents in his wake. The third of our new regular 'relaxed' screenings aimed at neurodivergent audiences.
More information about The Stimming Pool filmmakers is highlighted in a recent article in the Hastings Independent.
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