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An immersive documentary inspired by Naoki Higashida’s groundbreaking book of poetry, Jerry Rothwell’s The Reason I Jump places us in the mind of nonverbal autistic children, focusing on the ways in which they navigate the world. The result is a poetic and experimental documentary made for the big screen, and thankfully I had the rare opportunity to see it that way when it premiered last year at Sundance, presented in a version mixed for Dolby Atmos, the 360-degree sound system.

Now arriving in Virtual Cinemas around the country via Kino Marquee and ahead of a release in Rothwell’s native UK once cinemas reopen, we talked with the director about his experience adapting Higashida’s book and launching the film at a time when cinemas are largely closed.

The Film Stage: Thinking of your previous works exploring man in nature, how did you come to adapt Naomi Higashida’s The Reason I Jump?...

Picturehouse Entertainment has taken Jerry Rothwell’s The Reason I Jump, which had its world premiere at Sundance, for the U.K.

A release date will be announced later.

Based on the international best-seller by Naoki Higashida, and translated by British novelist David Mitchell, the film is an exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world.

The film at the Sundance Film Festival won the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award.

Rothwell’s previous work includes How to Change the World, which Picturehouse Entertainment released in 2015, along with Sour Grapes, Donor Unknown, Heavy Load and Deep Water.

The acquisition ...

Picturehouse Entertainment has taken Jerry Rothwell’s The Reason I Jump, which had its world premiere at Sundance, for the U.K.

A release date will be announced later.

Based on the international best-seller by Naoki Higashida, and translated by British novelist David Mitchell, the film is an exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world.

The film at the Sundance Film Festival won the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award.

Rothwell’s previous work includes How to Change the World, which Picturehouse Entertainment released in 2015, along with Sour Grapes, Donor Unknown, Heavy Load and Deep Water.

The acquisition ...

The 25th New Nordic Films, unspooling Aug. 20-23 parallel to the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, will kick off with the critically-lauded “A White, White Day” by Hlynur Pálmason. The Icelandic drama which world premiered at Cannes’ Critics’ Week, is among 19 films set to screen, of which 13 are world market premieres such as Jesper W. Nielsen’s thriller “The Exception,” Venice Critics Week’s pick “Psychosia,”, Venice Days’ entry “Beware of Children”, Jens Jonsson’s “The Spy” and Jesper Ganslandt’s “438 Days”.

The hot Works in Progress session has 20 titles to be pitched to more than 300 attendees. Gauging this year’s crop, New Nordic Films’ managing director Gyda Velvin Myklebust underlines the large number of local films, genre-driven and reality-based stories, as well as the healthy gender balance -half the films are female directed. “There are many new female talents to watch out for,” says Myklebust, citing the...