#MeetTheFilmmakers

2024 SOHO International Film Festival
Screening: September 22, 2024
TICKETS at https://sohofilmfest.com

George Steeves prepares to canvas West Hollywood, California, in a giant Magic 8-Ball costume to promote his one-person show, “Magic 8-Ball: My Life with Asperger’s”, debuting at The Hollywood Fringe Festival. He spent two months gutting his play with friends, a former Motown duo, and backup singers Penni Wilson and Crystal Wilson Blackmon. They've become the directors of George's show and perfected it into a formidable, one-hour journey of what it's like to grow up with Asperger’s Syndrome. Opening night is a success. Two weeks later, George receives the highly coveted “Pick of the Fringe” award.

More awards follow as George continues to fill small theaters in Los Angeles. His life is a far cry from the lonely boy who traveled to every large city within a 200-mile radius of his hometown to audition for American Idol. During his teens, he faced rejection from the show’s cattle-call casting method nine times. It’s a loser feat that still haunts him to this day and colors his one-person show. In the final monologue, he emotes emphatically, “I don’t need to be validated by American Idol, I don't need to be liked, I validate me!” This is a triumphant ending to a cruel and painful childhood where he was mocked, bullied, and teased for his Autism.

Four years of George’s life are unflinchingly captured in the documentary “My Life with Asperger’s,” showcasing the highs and lows of living with autism spectrum disorder and the successes one can achieve through defeat and adversity.

Director: Julianna Brudek
Screenwriter: Daniela Hinsch, George Steeves
Producer: Penni Wilson, Crystal Wilson Blackmon, George Steeves, Arden Pryor, Julianna Brudek
Filmmaker: Penni Wilson, Crystal Wilson Blackmon, George Steeves, Verton R. Banks, Coby Bird
Cast: Penni Wilson, Crystal Wilson Blackmon, George Steeves, Verton R. Banks, Coby Bird