By james art An autistic filmmaker has been nominated for three awards for his short film exploring how challenging it can be for him to make friends.
Sib Ali, 34, who lives in Wolverhampton, has struggled to form bonds and relationships with people all his life – a difficulty many other autistic people can relate to.
But he refuses to hold it back when he has to pursue his dreams of becoming a director. Instead, he turned it into a powerful short film that won acclaim at this year’s Birmingham Film Festival.
The film features a candid interview with Abby, who faces the same difficulties in finding friends as Sib. The couple, who first met in 2019, discussed how they feel about their struggles navigating relationships with other people.
Abby described it as feeling like “everyone is born with a manual on how to make friends, but the pages are stuck” in hers. Sib agreed.
The film has now been nominated for three awards – including Best Micro Short, the Bull Award and the Audience Award.
Speaking exclusively to the Express & Star about the news, Sib said: “I just wanted to create something good and hopefully I can because of that.
“This is the big break I was hoping for. The film industry is based on prestige and being nominated for these awards is the start of that for me.
“Hopefully this will open doors for me and my future in the industry as it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Kevin McDonagh, president of Birmingham Film Festival, said: “Sib’s film was chosen as we felt it was an honest and engaging look at the issue of communication from the perspective of a person with autism.
“Although short, the simplistic nature of the film and the open nature of Abby, the interviewee, made the issue much easier to understand and we think other viewers will benefit from seeing the film.”
“We’re all about encouraging creative people to keep telling their stories, and this is clearly an important story for Sib and those whose lives are affected by autism, so we’re excited to share it with our audience.”
Sib’s short film will be screened on November 12. For more information about the Birmingham Film Festival, visit its website.