“Picturing Inclusivity” is a short film by award-winning director John Schaffer, exploring how I look for ways to share my experience of my place in Cork City and the world through my images. The film soundtrack is scored and performed by acclaimed violinist Laura Nadine.
The film is a collaboration between John Schaffer’s Asperagus Productions, the First Place Global Leadership Institute and Chapel Haven Schleifer Center.
This film was an amazing experience over a few months in 2024. It involved a day of shooting at home and in locations across the City, with a local film crew and live video connections across multiple countries and timezones. It is amazing to see the realized potential of technology in making such connections accessible. Working on this project was always joyful and positive, with highly engaging remote meetings across wildly varied geography and climates (and an unbroken heatwave in Arizona).
In parallel, we were selecting images for the exhibition and James Burns was workshopping and curating a collection of poetry to accompany the images.
John Schaffer’s work includes the multiple award winning “Vectors of Autism: A documentary about Laura Nagle” and the highly regarded two-subject film “Soundtracks” featuring two autistic artists, photographer Blair Bunting and a composer Laura Naudine, who share a “conversation” about their art and their lives as adults on the autism spectrum.
“Picturing Inclusivity” was premiered in the Arizona Heritage Center in October 2024 as part of the 13th First Place Global Leadership Symposium and has played at “Creating Possibilities: Short Films by John Schaffer” in February 2025 at Theatrikos in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Interested in bringing “Picturing Inclusivity” to your community?
“Picturing Inclusivity” is a travelling art and film exhibition that shares my view of an accessible world. To explore hosting it at your venue, contact First Place Arizona.
See also “Three Artists with Autism. Three Voices with Purpose: Laura Nadine, Blair Bunting, and Stuart Neilson” by Tom Ortega, Director of the Mulzet Center for Expression at the First Place Global Leadership Institute.