Blu Star Festival Panel Calls for Neurodivergent Casting
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- The Blu Star Film Festival held its inaugural edition with a virtual panel moderated by Jessica Saul of Epic Players Los Angeles, bringing together neurodivergent actors and filmmakers to discuss representation in Hollywood.
- Lillian Carrier, who has also worked as an autism sensitivity coordinator on set, pushed back on the misconception that casting neurodivergent actors is harder, arguing "accommodations should be made for everyone, disability or not."
- Aidan Delbis, who played Don in the Oscar-nominated "Bugonia," advocated for hiring actual autistic actors, noting autism "can show up in [a person's] outward behavior" in a wide variety of ways.
- Dani Bowman, founder of the animation company Danimation, stressed that real inclusion extends behind the camera, saying her company "hire[s] autistic creatives as animators, editors and storytellers" and "build[s] the environment around how they work best."
- Bella Zoe Martinez's short film "Once More, Like Rain Man" — which she wrote after finding autistic roles "flat and two dimensional" — had nearly 40% neurodivergent cast and crew, with shorter shooting days, breaks, and sensory-free spaces on set.
- Alex Astrella, CEO of Blu Star Productions, said the panel showed "how people may navigate things a bit differently" and stressed "that doesn't make anyone lesser," while the festival also featured in-person screenings at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, California.
Why it matters: Four working neurodivergent actors — including Aidan Delbis from the Oscar-nominated "Bugonia" and Dani Bowman from "Love on the Spectrum" — are pressing Hollywood to move beyond symbolic on-screen casting and actually hire autistic talent in creative roles behind the camera, with Bowman noting her company Danimation already structures workflows around neurodivergent employees. Martinez's "Once More, Like Rain Man" provides a working model: 40% neurodivergent crew plus on-set accommodations produced a shoot she described as drama-free.
