Makayla’s Voice portrays a young girl’s courageous fight against autism
Film has the power to transform lives. I can say that with complete authority, having just watched the film Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World, in Shorts Competition at Tribeca Festival 2024.
Director Julio Palacio takes us behind the scenes into the lives of Makayla Cain and her family at their home in Atlanta in a heartfelt film that will make you cry.
“Silence is my cage. But it is my gift to the world, to sing my silence out loud. This is my song. It is my hope to inspire you with my journey.”
Meet Makayla Cain, a 14-year-old girl struggling mightily with a rare form of autism called Phelan-McDermid Syndrome, or PMS. It is a genetic form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) caused by the partial deletion of the terminal end of chromosome 22 in the 22q13 region. This is the disease-causing variant of the SHANK3 gene that causes the sporadic movements and inhibited speech in victims such as Makayla.
Phelan-McDermid Syndrome is believed inherited from a parent and is characterized by a range of medical, intellectual and behavioral challenges, among them delayed or disabled speech, which is displayed by Makayla. There is no known cure.
We see Makayla through the sensitive lens of Cinematographer Brock Hanson as she is developing the ability to communicate for the first time in her young life.
Prior to this, Makayla was essentially non-verbal. In fact, the thoughts expressed in the film were written entirely by her, using a newly developed communications technique called a letter board, and are read by Voiceover artist Portia Cue.
Because of her use of the letter board, Makayla is able to speak out on the beauty of the world unfolding around her. It is a world filled with wonder and poetry.
Here is a poem from Makayla Cain as read by VO artist Portia Cue at the start of the film.
“The most beautiful sound I ever heard, is the empty way the air flows between the trees,” she intones, while walking through a forest. “The sound goes unnoticed by most. But, to me it sings. It creates melodies that resemble my own silence.
I belong in nature. Effortless noise.
The wind is my muse. It inspires me to beam in my own way. Silent? Humph! Not Us!
We are the sound of hidden beauty.
Winds of autism.”
Those beautiful words almost sound as if a famous poet like Maya Angelou had written them. But they are the words of Makayla Cain, who, until only recently, was unable to communicate her inner thoughts to the world.
A few months prior to the filming of Makayla’s Voice, a dramatic change came into Makayla’s life and that of her family. A groundbreaking technique, letter board therapy, provided people like her with a new way of communicating with those around them.
Working with therapist Roxy Sewell, Makayla uses her index finger to point to letters on a board which she carries with her at all times. She uses it to create words that transmit her inner thoughts. Many of them are surprisingly profound. Take this ‘letter’ she wrote to her mother, Manana Cain.
“I’m writing because I don’t get to talk with you in my day-to-day life. Mom, there are so many things I have to tell you,” Makayla writes through her letter board. “First thing, I’m super, super smart. I learn by listening. My mind is a sponge that drinks knowledge like its juice!
“All my senses are heightened, and I can feel emotions through them as if they are music.
“In my silence, I’ve learned that many assume silence equals DUMB. I don’t like that. It hurts my feelings.
It’s mean. But I also understand why its thought that way and that makes me even sadder.
“I see how the autistic mind mirrors the soul in a cosmic way. It sees colors in sound. Music in the wind. My soul sees what others cannot.
Truth, Honesty and Love are colors surrounding the heart. I literally see that. It is so beautiful. Like the Nebula.
It’s music. Silent, like me.”
Although little is known about the origins of PMS, her therapist, Roxy Sewell, sheds some light on a possible genetic link to her parents.
“When Makayla is communicating, she’s tapping into a layer within herself that most of us as ‘speakers’ just don’t have access to because we are constantly listening in order to respond to somebody else.
“Whereas for Makayla, she’s listening and just taking it into her inner world and internalizing it and reflecting on it at a deep, deep soul level that I feel, perhaps her father has access to as an artist.
Makayla’s father, Khari “Needlz” Cain, a famous record producer and songwriter who has produced many groundbreaking recordings with Hip Hop artists such as Drake, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Lupe Fiasco, Busta Rhymes, Bruno Mars and many others, marvels at Makayla’s sudden ability to communicate.
“She’s 14-years-old and we’re just starting to have a conversation!”
‘Needlz’ Cain can be heard picking out notes on the keyboard in his home studio as he’s talking lovingly about his daughter. He’s working out a theme that will later be worked on as the soundtrack to the short film, ‘Makayla’s Voice’. Miraculously, he is composing the music at the same time that he is talking about her on camera. This is the wellspring of creativity from which Makayla’s own creative spirit is born.
Makayla’s father later is nearly brought to tears by a belated Father’s Day message Makayla tapped out on her letter board.
“Hi Dad. Happy Father’s Day,” Makayla writes. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I love you so much, it’s unreal. I get so happy when you’re near me. I giggle and cheer because I don’t want to allow you to EVER doubt your worth, Daddy-o.
“You gave me so much. Live light, music and love.
“You found my voice before anyone else did. When I, myself, never knew my voice could be heard. A lot of my strength comes from the way I see you work!”
Her father is mystified at her use of the term ‘Daddy-o’ since it is an old jazz music term that he never taught or used around her. It’s a hip term from the Be-Bop 1950s jazz era probably popularized by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and which became the name of a famous jazz radio DJ in Chicago named Daddy-O Daley.
There are more than a few really touching scenes in the film. One of them is a visit to the Georgia Aquarium by Makayla and her father, which Makayla requested as a Christmas ‘date’. Another is a trip to Paris by the entire family, during which they visited the Louvre art museum. There, Makayla encountered the paintings of her favorite artist, Vincent Van Gogh.
“He is trapped inside his emotions the way I am trapped inside my body. Van Gogh used color to communicate, and I use letters on a board. For speaking people, language is only worthy if they’re spoken by someone with speech. But the deepest messages come from those who, like Van Gogh and me, communicate differently. “
In the film, Makayla expresses her struggle in words that are simultaneously eloquent and painful.
“How can I feel so much in silence? Emotions are hard to keep inside. They rupture our insides if kept in.”
Makayla says she would like to be a champion and a voice for people like her. She would like to use her ‘voice’ to get rid of autism forever.
“I hope I can change the world. Am I able to? I hope I can be confident enough to not be scared to have the influence to change hearts. I want to show these (letter) boards to the world. Be an advocate for autistic people without a voice.”
Makayla’s voice will have its New York premiere at Tribeca Festival 2024 on Thursday, June 6 with Director Julio Palacio in attendance. Past festival screenings have earned the film numerous awards including Grand Jury Awards at Sundance, Best Documentary Short (Oscar Qualifying) at Cleveland International Film Festival, Georgia Short Film Award at the 2024 Atlanta Film Festival, Official Selection at the 2024 Florida Film Festival and it will be shown at CineSPEAK Under the Stars 2024 in Philadelphia June 14.
Makayla’s Voice is in the Shorts Competition at Tribeca Festival 2024. I’m not on the jury, but if I were, it would have my vote!
For more on Makayla’s Voice, visit the Official Film Website
https://makaylamovingautism.com/
Social Media Page
https://www.instagram.com/makaylasvoicefilm
For more on the Festival, visit tribecafilm.com.