Stims was founded in 2024 by a collective of film scholars, journalists and filmmakers, with a mission to create and curate relaxed spaces for neurodiverse audiences.

For us, going to cinemas, galleries and concert venues has never been a straightforward experience. We identified a lack of conversation surrounding how to make these spaces comfortable and inspiring environments for those with specific access needs, and a lack of inclusivity in discussions about cultural spaces in general.

Stims seeks to offer an alternative way of being in the world, for neurodivergent people, by neurodivergent people. We aim to curate and signpost regular Relaxed Events in venues across the UK, encouraging discussions that explore film, art and music through the lens of neurodivergent experience. 

We believe that cultural spaces should be accessible to all, and that neurodivergent people should be at the forefront of creating spaces for neurodiverse audiences.

Meet the Collective

  • Dr. Ethan Lyon

    WRITER AND SCHOLAR

    A graduate of the University of Southampton, Dr. Ethan Lyon is a co-host of the Autism Through Cinema podcast and has presented Relaxed Screenings at the British Film Institute since 2022. Currently an independent researcher, Dr. Lyon is passionate about film’s power to communicate the lived experience of disability, especially autism, to film fans.

  • Georgia Kumari Bradburn

    FILMMAKER AND WRITER

    Georgia Kumari Bradburn has directed several short films and co-directed THE STIMMING POOL, a hybrid documentary feature that captures the world through an autistic lens. She is interested in ideas of repetition, stimming, phenomenology and transformation onscreen, and aims to champion autistic representation behind the camera.

  • Lillian Crawford

    FILM AND CULTURE WRITER

    Lillian Crawford is a freelance film and culture writer for publications including Sight & Sound, Little White Lies, Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, A Rabbit’s Foot, and BBC Culture. She is currently working on a PhD on Screen Two and the transition from the British television play to film with the BBC and Royal Holloway University of London.