Final Cut: 09/2008 Release & Distribution: Spring 2009Currently in post-production

The Horse Boy will do more than chronicle Rowan and his family’s journey across this vast, wild landscape. It will delve into the strange world of autism itself, examining the conflicting theories that try to explain its exponential from one child in ten thousand just a decade ago to today’s epidemic. It will examine the relationship between humans and animals, between different cultures, different ways of being (autistic versus normal, or ‘neuro-typical’), and the nature of healing – orthodox treatments versus the traditional arts. We will talk to the experts in the field, well-known researchers into autism such as Dr Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University, Dr Temple Grandin, recovered autist and professor of animal behaviour at Colorado State University, and psycho-therapist and expert of shamanism Dr Bradford Keeney of the University of Arizona. We will talk to the shamans themselves, ask them just what is this thing called trance? And we will learn something about who we are, about where our world is right now (for an increasing number of biologists and medics trace autism’s rise with the accelerated upsurge in pollution, especially of heavy metals, caused by the greenhouse effect, which parallels Global Warming), and about the nature of love between human and animal, horse and boy, father and son.

A Father/Son Story

Increasingly we are seeing films being made about the vital role that fathers play in the development of their children. We are entering a new era of parenting, when fathers, instead of being emotionally distant breadwinners, are stepping up to the plate of direct, hands-on parenting. The special bond between father and son is one of the greatest gifts life can offer. The Horse Boy tells this story.

The Team

Rowan Isaacson is five years old. Diagnosed with autism at two, he has been in both orthodox and traditional therapies for the past three years, and has begun to read and write, though his social skills are still far behind. Possessed of an uncanny ability to communicate with animals, he has much to teach us.

Rupert Isaacson conceived and will narrate the film: an ex-professional horse trainer, he is a writer and journalist as well as human rights advocate for tribal peoples. His books include The Healing Land – the Bushmen and the Kalahari (Grove Press), The Wild Host – History and Meaning of the Hunt (Rowan Littlefield) and many others. He is also founder and director of the Indigenous Lands Rights Fund (www.landrightsfund.org)

Kristin Neff, Rupert’s wife and Rowan’s mother, is a tenured professor of psychology at the University of Texas. A practicing Buddhist for more than 10 years, she is well known for her researches into the Buddhist concept of self-compassion and its correlation with positive mental health. She and the rest of the family live in the country outside Austin, Texas.

Rick Perello : Producer

Michel Orion Scott: Co-Director and Cinematographer

Jeremy Bailey: Second camera

Justin Hennard: Sound

photos by Justin Jin, www.justinjin.com