Don't miss seeing the new documentary from Shreveport filmmaker Alexander Jeffrey at RFC

The Robinson Film Center is starting off the new year with shining a spotlight on a local filmmaker who is stepping out of his comfort zone to tell an important story close to his heart.

Shreveport-based and southern Arkansas raised filmmaker Alexander Jeffrey is most known for his films that pull on audience's heartstrings. While he's stayed in the realm of scripted films, he's now taken on a documentary that holds true to the characteristics of the kinds of films he likes to make. Jeffrey moved from Canada to just outside of El Dorado, Arkansas as a kid where he met Dennis and Beth James and their son Evan who is on the autism spectrum.

"I always love watching documentaries, they're actually some of my favorite things to watch. But I'd never for whatever reason saw myself as a documentary filmmaker," Jeffrey explained. "This particular story fits so well into the sort of world Paul Peterson and I do at Bespoke. We like telling heartfelt stories that give people hope and this particular doc really fit into that category."

Jeffrey's life-long relationship with this family is what encouraged Evan's stepfather Paul Burns to reach out and ask him to make a birthday video for Beth during 2020 COVID pandemic. While reaching out to Beth's friends and family to make the video, Jeffrey found there was a bigger story here to tell.

"It's cool to be able to bring the local filmmaker's work to the screen here and bring the community to watch and support, but I think, especially with this film, I think there's sort of another level to it than a typical filmmaker monthly screening series," said Jeffrey. "I'm hoping that we can reach people involved in the autism community here. Whether that's people who have a child with autism or have a friend or knows somebody. I think this film, even though it focuses on one person's journey and autism is a spectrum and no two stories are the same, I think that there's a lot that can be gleaned from this story about just humanity and how to treat people and giving people and parents hope going forward."

When Evan was diagnosed in the early 90s there were limited treatment options and doctors were unable to give practical advice for daily living and advised Beth to limit her son's social interactions. Instead, Beth set out on a mission to provide Evan with a life filled with purpose and friendship.

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Director of Community School Services at Holy Angels Kelly Rouse will be on the panel after the screening of Jeffrey's film You Have No Idea on Wednesday night.

"I think that for those of us who have been connected to autism, and in this, I call it the inner circle, we know the back and forth between joy and anguish," explained Rouse. "There's so many amazing moments, there's so many hard moments. When mothers and fathers are entering this world, there's a grief process because they expected one thing, but they find out along the way that it's a great surprise and what it actually is, and I think Alex does a really incredible job depicting neurodiversity and the resilience of the human spirit and really just the unbreakable bond of family."

RFC's filmmakers spotlight series showcases emerging and talented independent filmmakers from Louisiana and the South while highlighting the growth of Louisiana's indigenous independent film industry.

The Robinson Film Center will be hosting a special screening of the film You Have No Idea on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. with a discussion panel to follow. Tickets can be purchased at the RFC website or at the box office at 617 Texas St. in Shreveport.

Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Catch a new documentary from a Shreveport filmmaker at RFC