Created by the Neurocultures Collective alongside filmmaker Steven Eastwood, The Stimming Pool is a beautifully human meditation on seeing the world differently.

Stimming, or self-stimulating behaviour, is an often-repetitive behaviour presented by autistic or neurodiverse people as a way to sooth, manage energy and regulate sensory input. This film aims to shift perspective to people who see and experience the world differently - a neurodiverse perspective in a neurotypical-centric world.

At its core, The Stimming Pool is deeply experimental, reminiscent at times of Jacques Tati's works, allowing us to linger over scenes and decipher them ourselves first, then through the lens of neurodiversity (with some great use of eye-tracking tests to make this explicit and accessible for all).

It's also about as joyous as it gets, but only if you allow it to take you on a rollercoaster ride of chaos, beauty and difference. The Stimming Pool begs for you to become immersed in its atypical narrative and story, shifting through the different worlds that it chooses to focus on in increasingly intriguing and provoking ways - culminating in a final sequence of unparalleled celebration and reclamation of space for neurodiverse people.

The shots themselves are beautiful, as to be expected from cinematographer Gregory Oke, whose previous works include Charlotte Wells' Aftersun. A film not dissimilar from The Stimming Pool, with the visuals in both allowing us to take a step back and simply exist alongside the people on screen.

There's great sense of ownership over a diagnosis here too. The Stimming Pool never views neurodiversity as anything other than a 'superpower', morphing societal pressures into a joyous celebration, not just a label to be defined by. This refreshing approach to diagnosis is a engaging narrative thread to link together many weaving stories - with an adorable border collie named Chess providing a thoughtful anchor to a potentially meandering story.

It's worth noting that this film is not just for neurodivergent people. It's something that everyone can learn from, finding the beauty in the everyday and educating ourselves on how the world is not as linear as it may want us to believe. With one of the three main themes of this film being reclamation, and the idea of creating spaces for all minds to thrive, it really does yearn to be watched by all, regardless of if you relate directly to the narratives or not.

If I had a qualm, it would be that The Stimming Pool is too short. Yet that criticism only comes from a desire to exist alongside these brilliant minds for a little bit longer and is more a comment on the excitement I have to see what comes next. Does it feel like there's more to be said? Absolutely. But remember the names in the credits and be optimistic for what the future holds for these bright and brilliant minds.

Relaxed Screening x Showroom Community: The Stimming Pool - Showroom Workstation - Sheffield