Morgan Matthew is one of my favourite documentary makers working (v hard) today. Earlier this year he had 3 x 60 min films on BBC2, all loosely based around strange competitions (hairdressing, pigeon fanciers and an Elvis impersonator). He had a fourth idea in reserve, about the international maths Olympiad - a back up plan that developed into this feature length documentary.
Many of the most talented teenage mathematicians are autistic, which actually aids their accessing the hidden, pure world of mathematics. However, autism tends to hinder emotional and social communication abilities, and maths is a lone pursuit, so many of the kids feel isolated in their day to day life. That is the pure beauty of witnessing the mainly male maths genius' coming into contact with each other, at training camps. They're in an environment they're comfortable with (maths in their head) and socialising with others who see the world in the same way. This allows their personalities to become more apparent and diverse, and we naturally start to root for our favourites to make it to the finish line. This is a polished, perfectly structured documentary. Nevertheless, it feels completely raw and real, as we watch how some brainy boys decide how they want to live their lives.
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