Sam and I took in a collection of short films at the Thin Line Film Festival Sunday night, knowing that one of the short features was about a young man much like him.

Track by Track features the story of Kendall Collins, a young man with autism from a small town in Merced County, California. Kendall is a gifted artist and makes some money selling his drawings, even though he isn’t quite sure about handling money. He wants to go to college, because that’s the next step life says will help him be successful. But he still likes to swing on the swing in the side yard of his family’s home.

Sam said he liked the movie very much. The filmmaker, Anna Moot-Levin, allowed Kendall and his family to be fully human, even in such a short feature. I liked hearing the little chuckles in the audience when Kendall said something so plainly descriptive and honest that we in the audience couldn’t help but see ourselves more fully, too. For example, Kendall tells us he won’t wear a ball cap because it makes him look young. Instead, he wears a fedora because it makes him look more like a businessman.

I get that kind of conversation everyday here at home. It’s such a gift.

“Track by Track” was the first film about autism I’ve seen that really gets what our life is about. Unless enough people voted to make it the best short, it won’t show again in Denton. The next screening is in Missoula, Montana. I’m glad I got to catch that firefly when I had the chance.