Film producer PJ Saysell-Rosales talks about living with autism.
The film industry is one that is notoriously hard to break into with thousands of new creatives hoping to make it their career every year. Unless you already have a foot in the door with family connections or other useful contacts it takes an immense amount of hard work and talent to get anywhere.
This is daunting enough but some people may also face additional barriers that others would not even need to consider.
What is autism?
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – better known as just autism – could be seen as once such barrier.
It is not an illness or disease but it means that your brain works differently to others’.
According to the NHS, this can make it harder to communicate and interact with other people as well as finding certain situations overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable.
People with autism may also get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events, and take longer to understand information or think the same things over and over.
Due to the already high-stress environment this could make entering the film industry particularly difficult.
But for one filmmaker, his ASD diagnosis has actually helped fuel his creativity and “opened doors” for him.
To mark World Autism Awareness Day (April 2), director, producer and co-founder of Phoenix Rising Media Studios, PJ Saysell-Rosales shared his experience in the industry as someone living with autism.
PJ’s journey
The 31-year-old, from West Sussex, was formally diagnosed with ASD at the age of 12.
Aged 25 he was also diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a disorder that can often overlap with autism.
His condition was first picked up on due to some “typical” autistic tendencies such as difficulty using eye-to-eye gaze leading a special needs coordinator at his school to get him a referral.
However, he admits now that he is “not sure” which elements of his character are attributed to ASD and which ones are just natural or nurtured behaviours.
“I am a very deep feeler and form very intense relationships with people,” he said.
In line with World Autism Awareness Day, PJ provided a frank and honest insight into his diagnosis and career so far.
Q&A with PJ
For how long did you want to get into the film industry?
It’s certainly been one of my longest-term goals.
For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to make films. When I was about 5 years old my parents and I would visit my grandparents in Bournemouth.
My grandfather had a video camera (it was a huge thing that recorded onto VHS tapes – but it was cutting edge at the time, at least for an excited and ambitious 5-year-old!, which he’d let me use.
I remember setting up a small studio set in the corner of the living room and recording silly little pieces to the camera.
Through primary school I wrote countless scripts and stories and had the idea ofmaking a film (using my grandfather’s camera) with my classmates.
This obviously didn’t happen as my ideas were ridiculously high-budget, but when I started secondary school I formed an after-school filmmaking activity.
Harry Potter was popular at the time so we started making a knock-off version with support from the media teacher.
When I moved secondary schools I met two other budding filmmakers and we banded together to make a series of short films, of which the one I’m most proud of was a 15-minute film about the hurricane of 1987.
I chose to study media production at college and then again at university, but I found the course very non-specific and basic and I was more interested in pursuing my own projects, anyway.
Through the course of many failed projects and embarrassing (and sometimes expensive) mistakes I was building an invaluable network of talented and experienced professionals who were able to support me grow and develop.
Didyou ever think your diagnosis would cause an issue?
No. When my parents told me about the diagnosis I didn’t really think anything of it.
I don’t really even think I knew what it meant.
As far as I was concerned I was just me and it certainly didn’t change my perception of myself.
Has it caused an issue in any way?
Certainly not. If anything, a diagnosis today can be a rather useful attribute.
Most funding and training opportunities available are specifically targeted to filmmakers with “disabilities” such as ASD.
I find it actually opens more doors as it allows me to check another diversity box for funders.
I am hyper-focused and if I really want to do something I’ll storm past all of the red lights
and roadblocks to get there.
This can sometimes cause an issue as it means I won’t put the brakes on to assess the situation and find another solution.
Also, as a deep feeler I tend to create intense friendships and relationships which can sometimes make it difficult to be assertive when I need to be.
Are there things you do differently because of your diagnosis?
Not at all. I tend not to think about it. I do find having a diagnosis useful as it allows me to communicate how and why I may struggle with my friends, colleagues and collaborators.
I never use it as a “get out of jail free card” (although I certainly used to), but it can help my peers understand my more odd behaviours and award me some patience whilst I work through my challenges.
Is there a specific aspect of film production that is especially difficult as a result?
Success in the industry depends a lot on relationships and networking.
I can become overwhelmed in social situations which sometimes hampers my ability to communicate appropriately and effectively, making it more difficult to form these relationships.
I’m also a people pleaser, so being “the bad guy” is sometimes not easy. I don’t like having confrontations with people because I don’t want to lose relationships.
Are there any people in the industry with autism that you look up to?
Not really. To be honest, I think anyone who is a creative in the industry must be somewhere on the spectrum.
But as the diagnosis doesn’t really mean a lot to me I don’t look for it in others. I look up to filmmakers if I enjoy their work and they have a good personality, not because of any label.
Do you think there should be better awareness of autism within the industry and in general?
I think an awareness of neurodiversity in general would help in the industry.
There are lots of different personalities, each behaving in a slightly different way which may go against what is expected in certain situations, and the impatience of the film industry doesn’t foster a healthy environment for people like that.
