Australian Film Tells Story of Children with Disabilities in Mainstream Education

Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2018/09/09 - Updated: 2024/03/29
Publication Type: Informative
Topic: Films, Radio and TV - Publications List

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: All Means All will tell a story of Australian disabled people including a child with the most disabilities ever in mainstream education, in inspiring documentary on inclusivity. Clay-Smith's film, All Means All, tells the story of Nathan Basha, a 26 year old man with Down Syndrome who is currently living the good life. But his good life has been a fight, and it started with his parents fighting to have him included in the general education system.

Introduction

Australian film telling story of children with disabilities in mainstream education in running for world's biggest social impact film fund. The films through to the Final 5 show the lives of children with disabilities from all walks of life, and how inclusivity in their education can shape their lives.

Focus

From the story of "the child with the most disabilities ever to be mainstreamed", to a pioneering inclusive school in Indonesia, to teachers from Finland, Brazil, and Germany coming together to share their experiences of inclusive classrooms, these films will be a groundbreaking insight into the challenges, and strengths, of education for all.

The Final 5 will now pitch their projects to the Videocamp judging panel, made up of highly respected members of the film industry and top specialists on the subject, including award-winning African American filmmaker Yvonne Welbon (Chicken & Egg Pictures), Raúl Niño Zambrano (International Documentary Film festival, Amsterdam), Rosangela Berman-Bieler (UNICEF), Marcos Nisti (Alana), Paola Castillo (Chile Doc) and Cecilie Bolvinkel (European Doc Network).

"It's been so inspiring to see creative approaches to inclusive education from around the world, and seeing those on screen will be really exciting," says Yvonne Welbon, one of the judges.

The selected project will be announced on 21st September, and once the film is made it will be available in Videocamp's free catalogue of social impact films.

The Final 5 All Means All - Nathan and Zoe both have Down Syndrome, Mac was once declared to be "the child with the most disabilities ever to be mainstreamed", and Devin is non-speaking and Autistic and is graduating high school. We see how inclusive education helped them all succeed against the odds.

• Australian production - Directed by Genevieve Clay-Smith, winner of 2014 Young Australian Filmmaker at Byron Bay Film Festival, and produced by Briana Miller (4ME, Channel 7, Network 10). A Sky for João (Um Céu para João) - Joao has cerebral palsy and is hyperactive - he struggles to concentrate in class, preferring to dance and sing in the school office. Over a year we see his school become more inclusive, along with others in Finland, Germany, and São Paulo.
• Brazilian production - From director Fernanda Heinz Figueiredo, winner of the Audience Award for best Brazilian documentary at the 2012 Mostra de Cinema de São Paulo, produced by lawyer turned filmmaker, Jorge Saad Jafet, and written by Ana Durães. Forget Me Not - Starting with the director and his wife searching for an inclusive school for their son Emilio, born with Down Syndrome, we follow three students: two who have had the opportunity to have an inclusive education, and one who has not, seeing how this difference has shaped their lives.
• US production - From director and writer Olivier Bernier, whose films have been shown at DOCNYC, Big Sky, Bend Film Festival, and viewed over forty thousand times on Vimeo, and commercial producer Tiffany deGuzman. Get Me Out (Me Inclui Fora Dessa) - Tells the story of Raphael, Priscila and Larissa, young people with disabilities who have been pioneering in inclusivity in Brazilian classrooms. They are "Itinerant Inclusion Agents" for a project which won the 2016 Education Medal of Rio de Janeiro.
• Brazilian production - From director Bianca Lenti (Canal Futura, GNT, TV Brasil, Globo News, History Channel, Canal Brasil), producer Belisario Franca, whose work has been recognised by the International Documentary Association, the United Nations Festival, and Cine Ceará, and scriptwriter Juliana de Oliveira. Together - In a pioneering school in Indonesia, the story of four young friends on a life changing journey towards a more equal future. We meet Bima, a talented designer and performer; Restu and Khofiah, best friends who share a love of football and dance routines; and 8 year old Mansun, who discovers life beyond four walls after spending most of his life inside his family's small village house.
• UK production- From BAFTA-winning director, Rosa Rogers, whose previous film Pirates of Salé is currently being adapted for the stage by the UK's National Theatre, and producer Jane Dibblin, who has made over a hundred films for the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV. She won the New York UNCA gold award for her film inside the United Nations, Power Play (BBC Two).

Videocamp Film Fund, in partnership with UNICEF, will award $400,000 to a single film

All Means All will tell story of Australian disabled people including "child with the most disabilities ever in mainstream education" in inspiring documentary on inclusivity

Australian director Genevieve Clay-Smith, winner of 2014 Young Australian Filmmaker at Byron Bay Film Festival, teams up with TV producer Briana Miller (4ME, Channel 7, and Network 10) for groundbreaking film

A team of Australian filmmakers is down to the final five to win funding to create their next feature film. The team behind All Means All was chosen from applications from 29 countries across the world, everywhere from Ecuador to Gabon.

The film's award-winning director, Genevieve Clay-Smith, says:

"I live and breath advocacy for inclusion. The last ten years of my filmmaking career have been dedicated to advocating for a more inclusive and diverse film industry and world. It is my belief that our society is not embracing of inclusion because we don't have inclusive education. I am honoured to be in the final 5 because I want to show the world how inclusion is easy, and it starts in the mind."

Clay-Smith's film, All Means All, tells the story of Nathan Basha, a 26 year old man with Down Syndrome who is currently living the good life. But his good life has been a fight, and it started with his parents fighting to have him included in the general education system. Through his story the film will explore how inclusive education benefits a range of students, from Zoe, who has Down syndrome, to Mac, who was once declared to be "the child with the most disabilities ever to be mainstreamed", and Devin, who is non-speaking and Autistic and is graduating high school.

Nathan is a close friend of the film's director and writer, Genevieve Clay-Smith, who was inspired to tell his story. Clay-Smith's work has been screened at the United Nations, various Oscar Qualifying film festivals and has won over 50 awards. She also co-founded Bus Stop

Films, a not for profit organisation dedicated to inclusive filmmaking, where people with intellectual disabilities create world class short films with and alongside professional filmmakers.

She is joined on the All Means All project by producer Briana Miller, who has worked extensively across both commercial and documentary filmmaking. Her experience as a television producer has covered various shows and documentaries, for 4ME, Channel 7, and Network 10.

The Final 5, including Clay-Smith and Miller, will now pitch their films to the Videocamp judging panel, made up of highly respected members of the film industry, including award-winning African American filmmaker Yvonne Welbon (Chicken & Egg Pictures), Raúl Niño Zambrano (International Documentary Film festival, Amsterdam), Rosangela Berman-Bieler (UNICEF), Marcos Nisti (Alana), Paola Castillo (Chile Doc) and Cecilie Bolvinkel (European Doc Network).

"It's been so inspiring to see creative approaches to inclusive education from around the world, and seeing those on screen will be really exciting," says Yvonne Welbon, one of the Videocamp judging panel.

The winning project will be announced on 21st September, and once the film is made it will be available in Videocamp's free catalogue of social impact films.

This team behind All Means All are just one of hundreds from across the world who have been vying to win the Videocamp Film Fund, covering the issue of inclusive education through documentary, fiction and animation.

Carolina Pasquali from Videocamp says:

"Our mission is to democratise access to film for everyone. We all have the right to see our experiences reflected on screen and across the whole of the film industry."

Videocamp is the world's largest social impact film fund, and this year it has partnered with UNICEF to back a film about "inclusive education". Inclusive education is all about educating children with disabilities alongside their peers, to the benefit of everyone.

The Film Fund has raised awareness of inclusive education, inspiring filmmakers to creatively tackle issues of disability and representation in film. Around the world, 1 billion people - or 1 in 7 - have a disability, yet they do not see themselves represented often enough on screen, or even behind the camera.

Alongside the filmmakers who have entered, Videocamp is working to shed light on the experiences of children with and without disabilities, growing up together without barriers. Studies suggest that there are anywhere between 93 million and 150 million children across the world living with a disability, and around half of them are out of school. Research shows that children with disabilities educated in inclusive environments are around 11 percent more likely to find competitive employment, and 10 percent more likely to live independently as adults, compared to children with disabilities who are not educated in inclusive environments.

Videocamp believes in democratising access to film - as they say, films don't change the world, but people do, and films have the power to shape what we think. So it's essential to them to make films available to the people who need them most, turning town squares, classrooms, and even living rooms, into mini cinemas. Then it is up to the power of film to educate, inspire, and provoke social change. So far they've enabled 24,000 screenings in over 95 countries.

Author Credentials: Ian is an Australian-born writer, editor, and advocate who currently resides in Montreal, Canada. He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.