A heart-warming documentary

Arts & Entertainment City Hub Screen

Rita Bratovich
July 29, 2022

Film Kids is an inspirational feature-length Australian documentary produced and directed by award-winning film maker, Bernard Weber, and imagined into reality by the special needs students of St Edmunds College, Wahroonga.

The film is centred around several teenage students with various intellectual disabilities who are each given the chance to make a short film about a subject of their choosing. It follows each budding film-maker as they develop then screen their projects:

Joe writes a humorous lament on the pain of sitting on hard seats and finds a surprising solution. Caitlin shares her dreams for her birthday party which includes elephants, kangaroos and possums. Little chefs provide a 3-course dining experience for their teachers and parents. Ivan, a boy with profound hearing loss, dreams of building a skateboard and riding it in the skate park. But can he skate? Michaella, a tiny bundle of energy, showcases her passion for being a personal trainer.

As we follow the progress of the short films, we also get insights into the broader aspects of childhood intellectual disability: the particular challenges and rewards of the learning environment; the alternating heartbreak and joy of parents and families as they navigate the unique territory of raising a child with a disability.

The documentary includes poignant interviews with parents who share the complex emotions around first learning their child has a disability, then dealing with discriminatory systems and individuals, the pain of watching their child struggle, the pride of watching their child triumph.

Film Kids has been lauded by healthcare practitioners.

“This amazing documentary is essential viewing for nursing, midwifery and child and family health clinicians because it provides insight into the lives of children living with disability and reveals the transformative impact on health outcomes of supportive parenting and early intervention.” – Trish Lowe, RN, RM, MACN.

“…engaging, inspirational, educational and emotive. It should be essential viewing for all those caring for children and young persons with intellectual disability.” – Georgina Wingfield RN, RM, BSc Health Studies (Nursing), BScOHN Specialist Practitioner Occupational Health.