Picture Girl: Short Film Fundraiser

My name is Mitzi. I’m a 21-year-old screenwriter and I am autistic. I am raising funds to produce my first short film, Picture Girl.

As an autistic woman, seeing myself represented in media is extremely important, having grown up watching dominant stereotypes of what people think the autism spectrum is, with non-autistic men playing the only autistic roles.

The experience of autistic women (as well as nonbinary autistic people) is very often invalidated because they don't look or act like the ‘Rainman’ savant or like someone's 10-year-old son with autism.

We are fortunate today to have more onscreen representation than in past years—but we still need more.

I believe that, through film, we can show the world of film that we all need to be included in the frame, as well as behind the camera—not just low-masking men.

This is the type of inclusion I want to bring to the screen with my film “Picture Girl”.

The story is about a nonverbal autistic 17-year-old girl who develops a crush on the new girl who moves in next door. Unable to communicate these feelings for her through words, she expresses them through a stream of drawn portraits. When her secret blows out into the open, this unexpectedly brings the girls closer with a connection neither of them could have foreseen.

This story is very special to me, and it has been my dream for years to be able to make it happen. I was hoping to produce this film with my dad over the summer, but unfortunately, many grant deadlines have passed for this year,

I wish for this film to be an important, positive addition to onscreen (as well as behind the camera) representation, inclusivity, and awareness of hidden disabilities and neurodiversity. These are more than buzzwords—this is the reality of growing up late-diagnosed, misunderstood, and misrepresented. This is the film that little me needed to see.

If you can help by supporting this project, we will be extremely thankful, and we’ll be honoured to list your name in the film credits (if you wish!). Please share our link and subscribe or follow our social media to get updates and help spread the word!

Thank you!

Writer: Mitzi Kosovske

Producer: Wolodymyr Smishkewych

Director: Simon Brown

DOP: Alfie Hollingsworth