Award-Winning Autism Film to Screen in Princeton

(PRINCETON NJ) — LAC PRODUCTIONS presents the New Jersey premiere of Love and Communication, an award-winning new film about the personal cost of autism, on Tuesday, April 25 at the Princeton Garden Theatre (160 Nassau Street). Written and directed by Princeton playwright James Christy Jr., the film follows the surreal journey of parents desperate to find the right treatment for their son, only to find their efforts putting their marriage at risk. The screening begins at 7:00pm.

Love and Communication opened as a play at Passage Theatre in Trenton in 2010. The production won the prestigious Brown Martin Barrymore Award and received a rave review in the Star Ledger.

“To pull out the rug from an audience and make it gasp even once is an achievement; to do it twice is close to miraculous.” –Peter Filichia, NJ Star Ledger

But it was the response of parents of other children with special needs that convinced Christy to turn the play into a film. “So many parents told me they just had never seen a story that shows what it’s really like for parents.” Word of mouth within the tight-knit autism community spread quickly and carried over to mainstream audiences, leading to sold out shows in the final week.

Featuring a stunning performance by Lev Gorn (The Americans), the film version of Love and Communication has now screened in festivals throughout the world, winning an Audience Award and Indie Spirit award from a sold out East Coast Premiere at the New Hope Film Festival.

The Princeton screening of Love and Communication will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker as well as noted autism expert Dr. Kate Fiske. Christy and Fiske are launching a unique model to use the film as a teaching tool to help professionals in the autism field better understand the personal impact autism has on families, and help them better serve those families. Dr, Fiske has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and is the author of the book, Autism and the Family: Understanding and Supporting Parents and Siblings.

James Christy Jr. is a playwright, novelist and filmmaker based in Princeton, New Jersey. His solo show Not Right Now had sold out runs in New York City and at Pig Iron Theatre in Philadelphia. His previous Philly Fringe show, A Great War, about a German-Jewish soldier in WWI, was nominated for Best New Play by the Barrymore Awards in 2016.

 James Jr. wrote a broad two-hand comedy about why people have kids called The Forever Question, which won the B-Street Comedy festival in 2019, and is being produced by Eagles Mere arts center in July 2023. In a past life James was an actor with a featured part in the film Dead Poets Society. (Yes, he stood up on his desk)

Princeton Garden Theatre is a a nonprofit community arthouse theater located at 160 Nassau Street in Princeton, New Jersey.