The poem 'I Am Odd' came to the attention of Mcasso & Carnaby Blue Records boss, Mike Connaris through a Facebook Post. The story of how the poem went viral, and its heartfelt words, inspired Mike to turn the poem into a song with Ben’s family’s approval.
Rory Russell, a 20 year old student animator, was commissioned to make a simple 2D animated film, to compliment the song’s message.
Two months after the completion of the video, it had been selected by over 20 film festivals and amassed nine awards for Best Student Film, Best Inspirational Film and Best Music. This was followed by being nominated by the British Animation Awards, the most prestigious animation festival in Europe, in the Best Original Music category. The Awards take place on March 10th at the BFI.
'I Am Odd' has already been turned into a fast selling Children’s book by US Publishers, SchifferKids. The film and single are to be released to the public from April 2nd, 2022 – World Autism Day.