The Reason I Jump

Directed by Jerry Rothwell

Year: 2020

Country: U.S., U.K.

Language: English

English Closed Captions

Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, later translated into English by author David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas), The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida's revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.

Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps. The film distills these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.

Watch Q&As with director Jerry Rothwell and subjects Ben and Betra McGann and Emma and Donna Budway presented by the Coolidge Corner Theatre and ReelAbilities Film Festival.

Reviews

“This superb documentary has more heroes than any blockbuster would dare to put on the same screen.”

- Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

“This is non-fiction filmmaking at its most enlightening.”

- David Ehrlich, Indiewire

"Exquisite. The Reason I Jump will change how you think."

- Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily

"An inventive, sensuous documentary worthy of its source. This compassionate, creative documentary will open ears and eyes in equal measure. As emotionally piercing as it is beautiful to behold."

- Guy Lodge, Variety

“Bridges the divide between the neurodivergent minority and the neurotypical majority with empathy and originality.”

- Beatrice Loayza, The A.V. Club

"This is a wondrous work... that enlightens and informs but that is also ravishing to behold."

- Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter

“Moving and informative.”

- Ben Kenigsberg, The New York Times

"The Reason I Jump will be revelatory for viewers who know little about the subject, and affirmative for caregivers and parents of children on the autism spectrum."

- Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

“Succeeds in presenting the world of autism as an audiovisual sensory experience.”

- Dustin Chang, Screen Anarchy

"A powerful challenge of our preconceived notions of autism… The film weaves together the stories of five mostly nonverbal autistic teens to present a rich tapestry of the autistic experience.”

- Derek Smith, Slant Magazine

"A profound and moving experience."

- John Fink, The Film Stage

“The Reason I Jump is both advocacy and art... it’s a rare perspective onto the world we all share, a gentle but admirably firm request for compassion we’d all do well to heed."

- Chris Vognar, Houston Chronicle

"The thoughtful, transformative and deeply empathetic documentary The Reason I Jump seeks to illuminate the mysteries of the autistic mind and succeeds with flying colors... a leap of faith that is deeply rewarding."

- Adam Graham, Detroit News

“Does an excellent job of helping us better understand [autism] through the eyes and thoughts of five autistic children.”

- G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

Awards

Winner: Audience Award, World Documentary – Sundance Film Festival
Nominee: Best Feature, Best Director – IDA Documentary Awards
Nominee: Best Cinematography – Critics Choice Documentary Awards

Cast

Jordan O'Donegan

Venue	City	State	Screening Options
1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center	Fredonia	NY	Virtual Cinema
a/perture cinema	Winston Salem	NC	Virtual Cinema
ACME Screening Room	Lambertville	NJ	Virtual Cinema
AFI Silver	Silver Spring	MD	Virtual Cinema
Alexander Valley Film Society	Cloverdale	CA	Virtual Cinema
Art House Billings	Billings	MT	Virtual Cinema
Art Theatre of Long Beach	Long Beach	CA	Virtual Cinema
ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks	Bethlehem	PA	Virtual Cinema
Athena Cinema	Athens	OH	Virtual Cinema
Autism Society Southeastern Wisconsin	Wauwatosa	WI	Virtual Cinema
Avalon Theatre	Washington	DC	Virtual Cinema
Balboa Theatre	San Francisco	CA	Virtual Cinema
BAM Rose Cinemas	Brooklyn	NY	Virtual Cinema
Baxter Avenue Theatres	Louisville	KY	Virtual Cinema
Bedford Playhouse	Bedford	NY	Virtual Cinema
Best Buddies NY	Rochester	NY	Virtual Cinema
Bijou Theatre	Lincoln City	OR	Virtual Cinema
Bozeman Film Society	Bozeman	MT	Virtual Cinema
Bryn Mawr Film Institute	Bryn Mawr	PA	Virtual Cinema
Burns Court Cinemas	Sarasota	FL	Virtual Cinema
Byrd Theatre	Richmond	VA	Virtual Cinema
Cameo Cinema	St. Helena	CA	Virtual Cinema
Chelsea Theater	Chapel Hill	NC	Virtual Cinema
Cinema Society	San Diego	CA	Virtual Cinema
Cinemapolis	Ithaca	NY	Virtual Cinema
CineSpeak	Philadelphia	PA	Virtual Cinema
City Lights Cinemas	Florence	OR	Virtual Cinema
Cleveland Cinemas	Cleveland	OH	Virtual Cinema
Cleveland Cinematheque	Cleveland	OH	Virtual Cinema
Colonial Theatre	Keene	NH	Virtual Cinema
Coolidge Corner Theatre	Brookline	MA	Virtual Cinema
Crandell Theatre	Chatham	NY	Virtual Cinema
Crystal Theatre	Carbondale	CO	Virtual Cinema
Darkside Cinema	Corvallis	OR	Virtual Cinema
DEE Film Fest Online	Philadelphia	PA	Virtual Cinema
Denver Film / Sie FilmCenter	Denver	CO	Virtual Cinema
Detroit Institute of Arts	Detroit	MI	Virtual Cinema
Downing Film Center	Newburgh	NY	Virtual Cinema
Drexel Theatre	Columbus	OH	Virtual Cinema
Enzian Theatre	Maitland	FL	Virtual Cinema
Film Society of Summit	Summit	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Film Streams	Omaha	NE	Virtual Cinema
Fine Arts Theatre	Asheville	NC	Virtual Cinema
Fine Arts Theatres	Overland Park	KS	Virtual Cinema
Flicks Theatre	Boise	ID	Virtual Cinema
Gateway Film Center	Columbus	OH	Virtual Cinema
Goldtown Nickelodeon Theater	Juneau	AK	Virtual Cinema
Grail Moviehouse	Asheville	NC	Virtual Cinema
Grand Cinema	Tacoma	WA	Virtual Cinema
Guild Cinema	Albuquerque	NM	Virtual Cinema
Hamptons Film	East Hampton	NY	Virtual Cinema
Harbor Theater	Boothbay Harbor	ME	Virtual Cinema
Harris Theater	Pittsburgh	PA	Virtual Cinema
Hayesville Opera House	Hayesville	OH	Virtual Cinema
Historic Howell Theater	Howell	MI	Virtual Cinema
Jacob Burns Film Center	Pleasantville	NY	Virtual Cinema
Kiggins Theatre	Vancouver	WA	Virtual Cinema
Laemmle Theatres	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema
Landmark Cinemas	Peoria	IL	Virtual Cinema
Lincoln Theatre	Mount Vernon	WA	Virtual Cinema
Lumiere Cinema	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema
Lyric Theatre	Blacksburg	VA	Virtual Cinema
Majestic Theater	Gettysburg	PA	Virtual Cinema
Mayo Performing Arts Center	Morristown	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Michigan Theater	Ann Arbor	MI	Virtual Cinema
Middleburg Film Festival	Middleburg	VA	Virtual Cinema
Midtown Cinema	Harrisburg	PA	Virtual Cinema
Minor Theater	Arcata	CA	Virtual Cinema
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston	Houston	TX	Virtual Cinema
Museum of the Moving Image	Astoria	NY	Virtual Cinema
Naro Expanded Cinema	Norfolk	VA	Virtual Cinema
Neptune Movie House	Long Beach	WA	Virtual Cinema
New Plaza Cinema	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
NJ Autism Center of Excellence	Piscataway	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Normal Theater	Normal	IL	Virtual Cinema
O Cinema	Miami Beach	FL	Virtual Cinema
Park City Film	Park City	UT	Virtual Cinema
Pensacola Cinema Art	Pensacola	FL	Virtual Cinema
Pickford Film Center	Bellingham	WA	Virtual Cinema
Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center	Patchogue	NY	Virtual Cinema
Plaza Theatre	Atlanta	GA	Virtual Cinema
Portland Museum of Art	Portland	ME	Virtual Cinema
Red River Theatres	Concord	NH	Virtual Cinema
ReelAbilities Film Festival	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
Reg Lenna Center for the Arts	Jamestown	NY	Virtual Cinema
Rose Theatre	Port Townsend	WA	Virtual Cinema
Roxie Theater	San Francisco	CA	Virtual Cinema
Salem Cinema	Salem	OR	Virtual Cinema
Salina Art Center	Salina	KS	Virtual Cinema
Salt Lake Film Society	Salt Lake City	UT	Virtual Cinema
Sebastiani Theatre	Sonoma	CA	Virtual Cinema
SIFF Film Center	Seattle	WA	Virtual Cinema
Smith Rafael Film Center	San Rafael	CA	Virtual Cinema
Sneak Preview			Virtual Cinema
South Bay Film Society	Torrance	CA	Virtual Cinema
State Theatre	Modesto	CA	Virtual Cinema
Strand Theatre	Rockland	ME	Virtual Cinema
Symphony Space	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
Taking Over Presents	Brooklyn	NY	Virtual Cinema
Tampa Theatre	Tampa	FL	Virtual Cinema
Taos Center For The Arts	Taos	NM	Virtual Cinema
The Arc of Virginia	Richmond	VA	Virtual Cinema
The Frida Cinema	Santa Ana	CA	Virtual Cinema
The Little Theatre	Rochester	NY	Virtual Cinema
The Loft Cinema	Tucson	AZ	Virtual Cinema
The Martha's Vineyard Film Festival	Chilmark	MA	Virtual Cinema
The Moviehouse	Millerton	NY	Virtual Cinema
The Neon	Dayton	OH	Virtual Cinema
The Nightlight Cinema	Akron	OH	Virtual Cinema
The Screening Room	Newburyport	MA	Virtual Cinema
The Tull Family Theater	Sewickley	PA	Virtual Cinema
Time & Space Limited	Hudson	NY	Virtual Cinema
Tivoli at the Nelson-Atkins	Kansas City	MO	Virtual Cinema
Tivoli Theatre	Chattanooga	TN	Virtual Cinema
Tropic Cinema	Key West	FL	Virtual Cinema
UCR ARTS	Riverside	CA	Virtual Cinema
United Theatre	Westerly	RI	Virtual Cinema
University of Southern California	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema
Varsity Theatre	Davis	CA	Virtual Cinema
Vickers Theatre	Three Oaks	MI	Virtual Cinema
Vogue Theatre	Manistee	MI	Virtual Cinema
Waters Edge Cinema	Provincetown	MA	Virtual Cinema
Wellfleet Preservation Hall	Wellfleet	MA	Virtual Cinema
Zeitgeist Theatre	Arabi	LA	Virtual Cinema
Zinema 2	Duluth	MN	Virtual Cinema

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The Reason I Jump

Directed by Jerry Rothwell

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The Reason I Jump

Directed by Jerry Rothwell

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