No Fairytale

In spite of 1 in 6 Australians living with a disability, people with disability are either misrepresented or under-represented on screens and stage.
This documentary and campaign aims to:
• challenge stereotypical depictions of people with disability in cultural productions
• bust myths surrounding the ‘practicalities’ of including people with disability in the creation and production of stage and screen works
• increase the participation of people with disability as practitioners in the creative industries.

Our social impact film has the following aims:
• Culture is for everyone. We want to mainstream the right to cultural participation
• Commit to act by developing appropriate policies and practices on the cultural aspect of Article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disability – Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport.
• use the film as a tool to change attitudes of decision makers

Our vision is to ignite a cultural shift where the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of cultural life becomes the norm. Our film and accompanying campaign aims to dismantle entrenched stigmas towards including people with disability as creators, subjects and consumers in cultural projects. We want to shake up the attitudes of current and future decision makers working in the creative industries so that genuine inclusion becomes common practice.

The short-term outcomes of our documentary strive to see immediate attitude shifts among audiences and discussions exploring how we can make cultural productions accessible and inclusive.
As the campaign gathers momentum, we want the stigma surrounding people with disability in the creative industries further reduced as its demystified. We want to see attitude shifts reflected with concrete actions. Educational institutions and businesses, for example, commit and implement new policies promoting inclusion. We start to see increases in participation rates in cultural productions and events.
Longer term, we want to see increased participation of people with disability as creators and consumers. This could lead to systemic shifts in how cultural institutions operate, with accessibility becoming a core value instead an afterthought.

Zel has lived and professional experience of disability. Zel is currently on the Board of DADAA, a disability arts not for profit, and Chair of Blind Citizens WA. She is also a director of the national organisation, Rights & Inclusion Australia. Zel runs her own consultancy, ‘Inclusive World’ where she provides training in areas like disability awareness, consultation on inclusive events and projects, HR coaching on disability employment, and conducts website tests for accessibility.
Over the past 30 years, Hannah has worked in theatre, children’s television and factual television – from development, production, post-production through to distribution. She is a member of Australian and international film and television organisations and attends industry conferences. As a film studies graduate and a creative industries practitioner, she recognizes the power of representation to shape societal attitudes.

Our calls to action for audiences are to:
1. Engage decision makers nationwide to include people with disability in the creation of cultural productions.
2. Support disability inclusion initiatives and sustainable funding.
3. Advocate for the perspectives of creatives who live with a disability.
4. Push for accessible media, accessible venues, and encourage greater participation in cultural life.