Hear Me
Springfield, Virginia | Film Short
Drama, Thriller
'Hear Me' is a psychological drama about a father's struggle to help his autistic son. It counters popular narratives that overlook the harsh realities of severe autism by luring the audience into a surreal, war-torn world that externalizes the father's torment.
Hear Me
Springfield, Virginia | Film Short
Drama, Thriller
1 Campaigns | Virginia, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $35,076 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
162 supporters | followers
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'Hear Me' is a psychological drama about a father's struggle to help his autistic son. It counters popular narratives that overlook the harsh realities of severe autism by luring the audience into a surreal, war-torn world that externalizes the father's torment.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
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According to a 2025 study, 42% of parents of severe autism experience suicidal thoughts.
- The divorce rate is double
- Depression is four times higher than the general population
- and their cortisol levels are similar to soldiers diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Many are exhausted, anxious, afraid, and desperate, but more than anything, they are alone.
Hear Me is our story.
My severely autistic son is 19, non-verbal, and transitioning to a world that isn't made for him. Four years ago in a dream, I heard my son talking to me from behind a wall. No one else in the room could hear him, but I could, and I knew I had to get to him. I began tearing down the wall, but before I broke through to my son, I woke up.
I started writing Hear Me to put my own story on the page,
but years of reading and connecting with others on social media changed that.
Hear Me represents hundreds of thousands of stories like mine,
each with their own unique twists and challenges,
but all with the same underlying stress and isolation.
On its surface, Hear Me is the desperate search for a trapped child, but at a deeper level,
Hear Me is a psychological journey through the madness, regret, and isolation of severe autism.
Our story opens on Taytem, a young father pinned under rubble, confused, and injured. He calls out to his wife and son, and all seems lost until a toddler's voice echoes like a taunt from the afterlife. Taytem springs into action, reaching for anything he can find to break through the wall separating him from his child. But, as his efforts fail and his cries for help go unanswered, he is haunted by his own thoughts, and the hopes and dreams he felt for his newborn son feel as foreign as the destruction around him.
Hear Me is not just an expression of grief.
It's a story crafted to shift perspective and deepen understanding for audiences unaffected by severe autism.
Taytem's breakthrough comes when a crack reveals the toddler's playful sounds are a communique from Taytem's past, not a sign of life from the present. They are echoes of Taytem's most disorienting day, when the naive suspicions of a developmental delay are crystallized in a sobering diagnosis--the simultaneous origin and culmination of Taytem's fears and future torment. What follows are raw glimpses of severe autism: home videos of the pain, aggression, uncontrollable behaviors, seizures, medical care, and the private, gut-wrenching resignations of parents.
Hear Me ends with an urgent message...
to parents living without hope or answers to SEEK HELP and to broader audiences to advocate for programs and policies that provide long-term support.
We have an award-winning team.
Meet our Director, Matty Brown
Matty's kinetic style transports audiences into the surreal, disorienting worlds of mental health crises. He's the visionary behind the Netflix global hit, The Sand Castle. Matty's an Emmy nominee, Film Independent Spirit Award winner and 18-time Vimeo Staff pick.
And our Producer Sarah Wharton
Sarah has produced, written, and starred in dozens of films and documentaries, and she's an active leader in the independent film community.
We need your help.
Your contributions will help us ensure we have the budget to produce the highest quality short with advanced editing, sound, and visual effects to make Hear Me a truly meditative experience.
Hear me will being filming this spring, and we will submit it to national film festivals.
Disclaimer: For this campaign, AI was used to generate the title image and timeline background, as well as three images in the pitch video, because they were important to the tone of the project and otherwise unavailable during pre-production.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Set design
Costs $15,000
Authentic set design is essential to bringing the audience into our character's destroyed world.
Post Production
Costs $15,000
Sound mixing, editing, and visual effects will be critical to making our character's experience both believable and surreal.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
I wrote Hear Me to help audiences understand the hidden world of severe autism and the physical pain, violent outbursts, social withdrawal, anxiety, guilt, and abandonment experienced by severely autistic people and their families. I'm a national security professional who answered the call to serve after 9/11, and now I write about my lived experiences. I also have a feature screenplay in development.
Sarah Wharton is an accomplished producer, writer, and actor with dozens of credits in narrative and documentary films. She is active in the film and podcast scene in New York City.
We are fortunate to join with award-winning and Emmy-nominated director Matty Brown, whose visual style and sound animate the physical and emotional dimensions of mental health challenges. His 2025 film "The Sandcastle," about the psychological trauma experienced by children in war-torn Syria, was a global hit for Netflix.
Matty and Sarah have decades of experience crafting compelling stories into high quality films through creative photography and set design, avoiding the high costs incurred in comparable studio projects.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
According to a 2025 study, 42% of parents of severe autism experience suicidal thoughts.
- The divorce rate is double
- Depression is four times higher than the general population
- and their cortisol levels are similar to soldiers diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Many are exhausted, anxious, afraid, and desperate, but more than anything, they are alone.
Hear Me is our story.
My severely autistic son is 19, non-verbal, and transitioning to a world that isn't made for him. Four years ago in a dream, I heard my son talking to me from behind a wall. No one else in the room could hear him, but I could, and I knew I had to get to him. I began tearing down the wall, but before I broke through to my son, I woke up.
I started writing Hear Me to put my own story on the page,
but years of reading and connecting with others on social media changed that.
Hear Me represents hundreds of thousands of stories like mine,
each with their own unique twists and challenges,
but all with the same underlying stress and isolation.
On its surface, Hear Me is the desperate search for a trapped child, but at a deeper level,
Hear Me is a psychological journey through the madness, regret, and isolation of severe autism.
Our story opens on Taytem, a young father pinned under rubble, confused, and injured. He calls out to his wife and son, and all seems lost until a toddler's voice echoes like a taunt from the afterlife. Taytem springs into action, reaching for anything he can find to break through the wall separating him from his child. But, as his efforts fail and his cries for help go unanswered, he is haunted by his own thoughts, and the hopes and dreams he felt for his newborn son feel as foreign as the destruction around him.
Hear Me is not just an expression of grief.
It's a story crafted to shift perspective and deepen understanding for audiences unaffected by severe autism.
Taytem's breakthrough comes when a crack reveals the toddler's playful sounds are a communique from Taytem's past, not a sign of life from the present. They are echoes of Taytem's most disorienting day, when the naive suspicions of a developmental delay are crystallized in a sobering diagnosis--the simultaneous origin and culmination of Taytem's fears and future torment. What follows are raw glimpses of severe autism: home videos of the pain, aggression, uncontrollable behaviors, seizures, medical care, and the private, gut-wrenching resignations of parents.
Hear Me ends with an urgent message...
to parents living without hope or answers to SEEK HELP and to broader audiences to advocate for programs and policies that provide long-term support.
We have an award-winning team.
Meet our Director, Matty Brown
Matty's kinetic style transports audiences into the surreal, disorienting worlds of mental health crises. He's the visionary behind the Netflix global hit, The Sand Castle. Matty's an Emmy nominee, Film Independent Spirit Award winner and 18-time Vimeo Staff pick.
And our Producer Sarah Wharton
Sarah has produced, written, and starred in dozens of films and documentaries, and she's an active leader in the independent film community.
We need your help.
Your contributions will help us ensure we have the budget to produce the highest quality short with advanced editing, sound, and visual effects to make Hear Me a truly meditative experience.
Hear me will being filming this spring, and we will submit it to national film festivals.
Disclaimer: For this campaign, AI was used to generate the title image and timeline background, as well as three images in the pitch video, because they were important to the tone of the project and otherwise unavailable during pre-production.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Set design
Costs $15,000
Authentic set design is essential to bringing the audience into our character's destroyed world.
Post Production
Costs $15,000
Sound mixing, editing, and visual effects will be critical to making our character's experience both believable and surreal.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
I wrote Hear Me to help audiences understand the hidden world of severe autism and the physical pain, violent outbursts, social withdrawal, anxiety, guilt, and abandonment experienced by severely autistic people and their families. I'm a national security professional who answered the call to serve after 9/11, and now I write about my lived experiences. I also have a feature screenplay in development.
Sarah Wharton is an accomplished producer, writer, and actor with dozens of credits in narrative and documentary films. She is active in the film and podcast scene in New York City.
We are fortunate to join with award-winning and Emmy-nominated director Matty Brown, whose visual style and sound animate the physical and emotional dimensions of mental health challenges. His 2025 film "The Sandcastle," about the psychological trauma experienced by children in war-torn Syria, was a global hit for Netflix.
Matty and Sarah have decades of experience crafting compelling stories into high quality films through creative photography and set design, avoiding the high costs incurred in comparable studio projects.