ABC AND SCREEN AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCE DisRUPTED FILMS
ABC and Screen Australia are pleased to announce the three successful films selected for DisRupted following a nation-wide call out in October 2018.
The films are all led by young Australian creatives with disability and supported by some of Australia’s best production companies with the broadcast on ABC ME set to premiere on the International Day of People with Disability, 3rd December 2019. Australian kids will be drawn into the funny and clever stories that are full of heart and capture what it’s like to be a young person with disability in Australia.
DisRupted provides these talented emerging filmmakers a career changing opportunity to devise and lead the creative authorship of their film, empowering them to develop their skills as storytellers and deliver authentic stories for audiences. The films provide the filmmakers with the opportunity to disrupt and reframe how disability is understood.
All three films explore universal themes through unique perspectives: newly discovered independence, finding your own voice, the power of friendship and your relationship to the world around you. Creator and director Johanna Garvin draws on her own experiences in Rocky and Me, a dramatized telling of when eleven-year-old Stella gets her first wheelchair “Rocky” and with it a new sense of freedom. And Then Something Changed, created by Eliza Hull, tells the story of a happy-go-lucky eight-year-old Louis who has Achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, and wakes up to what he thinks will be just another normal school day but for some strange reason the world around him just isn’t working! The Legend of Burnout Barry, created and directed by Isaac Elliot, follows speed demon and record holder Josh “Wheely” Wilson who learns that there’s someone in town faster than him, setting him on a course to challenge the elusive and legendary Burnout Barry to a race.
“The ABC is so proud to be working with these talented creators who bring fresh perspectives, enthusiasm in spades and a love of filmmaking to their stellar projects. The films are not only imaginative and entertaining but also promise to challenge young Australians to reflect on the experience of disability and how it is understood. We can’t wait to share and celebrate these films with kids on 3rd December, the International Day of People with Disability” said Libbie Doherty, ABC Head of Children’s Content.
Nerida Moore, Head of Development at Screen Australia said, “What makes this initiative so important is that it gives creatives with disability the opportunity to tell their stories in their own way. These films are insightful and address themes of empowerment, accessibility, friendship and inclusion. It’s vital that stories on our screens reflect the diversity of the world around us and we are proud to partner with the ABC to support these filmmakers to tell these powerful stories.”
DisRupted is an ABC and Screen Australia initiated content program, the creators are supported by experienced industry filmmakers CJZ, Sticky Pictures and LateNite Films to realise their creative vision. ABC and Screen Australia Executives will provide editorial guidance and support including Jan Stradling, Anna Allbury and Natalie Robinson-Hurst for ABC Children’s and Ester Harding from Screen Australia.
A popular perception of disabled people at the moment is what I like to call the "Poor Little Darling" Syndrome. We infantalize people with disabilities, and treat the like naughty children, which ironically, is more abusive than calling a disabled person ‘spastic’ or ‘cripple’.