The Stimming Pool | WATCH DOCS

What could a Civil War–era zombie horror movie possibly have in common with the story of a gentle border collie named Chess? This hybrid work, made by a collective of filmmakers on the autism spectrum, blends documentary and conceptual art where even the creative process becomes part of the film itself. Constructed like a series of nesting boxes, each layer reveals another, made in a different style or register by successive auteurs. Yet the plot soon gives way to something deeper: an exploration of perception as “Stimming Pool” is, above all, an attempt to show how autistic creators experience the world and themselves. And it invites the viewer to ask: how does a so-called “neurotypical” audience navigate a story told through a neurodiverse lens?

Konrad Wirkowski