I have autism. They call me weirdo: Sisler student's short video explores neurodiversity

When a cool idea pops into Mark Mariano's mind, it's easy for him to go down a rabbit hole, his mind swirling with thoughts.

At school, at home, or out and about, Mariano gets distracted. He goes off topic, and can be socially awkward. That's how his autism affects him.

"Sometimes it's hard for me to focuswhen I have an interestingidea come up," said Mariano. "I just drop whatever I am doing because my ideas are more interesting."

"A lot of people don't understand this aspect of me at all and they just see me as a weirdo," he said.

Being a so-called weirdo is at the heart of Mariano's new short film Me versus Autism. In imagined fight scenes and in awkward group interactions, Mariano lays bare his struggles with feeling understood and accepted.

Mariano created the film withfellow students Gino Villaceran and Beryl Constantino. It was produced as part ofCBC Manitoba's Project POV: Sisler Create, an ongoing video storytelling collaboration with the post-high school program. The Sisler Create programoffers multimedia training and experience.

Meet the filmmakers

More about Project POV: Sisler Create

CBC Manitoba's Project POV: SislerCreate is a new storytelling collaboration that partners filmmaking students with CBC journalists to produce short videos.

During fall 2022, CBC journalists taught storytelling and led producing workshops over several weeks to filmmaking students at theCreate program at Sisler High School.

The post-high school programfocuseson education and career pathways into the creative industries. Students can take courses in animation, film, game design, visual effects, graphic design and interactive digital media.