The Focus on Ability Short Film Festival is bringing its celebrated lineup of international films and documentaries to Sydney on Sunday 29 September for a special gala screening. Taking place at The Concourse Concert Hall in Chatswood at 1pm, this free event promises a day of inspiring stories, cultural exchange and community celebration.
The festival, renowned for showcasing films that highlight the diverse experiences and achievements of people with disabilities, will feature a curated selection of films from around the globe. Attendees can expect a moving collection of stories that challenge perceptions and celebrate human resilience and creativity.
The Sydney gala screening will include an all-star judging panel such as Paula Duncan, Lynne McGranger, Tina Bursill, Craig Bennett, Amanda Muggleton and Tony Bonner, who will walk the red carpet with nominees from across the world, to celebrate the storytelling talents of individuals with a disability.
Leading up to the Red Carpet Awards night on September 29, Nick L’Barrow spoke with Abbey and Lorraine Holmes, who made the short film Interview In Progress (which you can find at the bottom of this article), a short film that brings to light the incredible things people with disabilities can do, but the barriers they face when taking part in job interviews.
Nick: Abbey, Lorraine, it’s a pleasure to meet you both! Thank you for taking the time to chat!
Abbey Holmes: Thank you!
Lorraine Holmes: Thanks!
Nick: I’d love to start at the beginning for this project, Interview in Progress. Where did this idea originate, and how did you then work it in to a short film?
Lorraine Holmes: I have worked in the disability field for about 40 years, and I was on a train up to Sydney, and I just happened to see an ad for this film festival [Focus on Ability].
I thought it was a fantastic idea, because I know how difficult it is for people with disabilities to get jobs. So, I thought this is a great way to try and promote what people with disabilities can do and try and break down some barriers.
Then it triggered this memory from years and years ago, when I would train people to work with people with disabilities. That was part of my job. And back then, I used this film called A Different Approach. It was made in the late 70s – that’s showing how old I am! – and it was shot on 16mm film.
It starred a very, very young Michael Keating, and it was a short film that was about 20 minutes long. But the thing that really stood out about that film was that it was quite funny, right? Because with disability, you know, it’s a bit of a taboo topic in some ways. But this was really funny, and it still managed to change people’s perspective on people with disabilities.
So, when I was on the way home, and I saw the advert, I thought about what really are the barriers to people with disabilities getting jobs that meet their skills and their qualifications, and their potential. Well, a lot of the time, it’s getting through the interview process. It doesn’t seem to matter what sort of disability people have, they just come up against barriers and glass ceilings that they can’t break through.
Basically, by the time I got home, I had the plot and a few characters in my head, and I wrote it out. Then I asked Abbey to look at it, because at uni, she’s doing Communications and Media, and she works for i98 FM making video clips for them, so I knew she could do something with this little screenplay. I showed her a few videos from the website, so she knew what this sort of thing was, and yeah, she had the gig!
Abbey Holmes: I remember mum coming home and saying, “Do you think we can do this?” And like, we’ve got no one. No actors or anything. No money. But I read it, and saw a whole picture of filming this, and how we could put it together. So, I said, “100%! Let’s do it!”
In the beginning, it kind of felt like a uni assignment. Like a little group project coming together. It was just my parents, and my best friend. We really had nothing. We just put it together ourselves, and in the end, it was so much fun! The whole film came together exactly as a I saw it would.
Nick: What I love about this festival in particular is that it’s incredibly accessible. You can make such an impactful and entertaining film on your phone! Was that something that also attracted you both to make this film, and then have a platform to showcase it through this festival?
Abbey Holmes: Yeah, 100%. I’ve worked on a short film before, but that was a completely different experience! They had paid extras, actors, cameras, lighting, costumers, everything! And I was just acting in it.
This was completely different. We filmed it on mum’s iPad. I remember, we used two boxes, two books and a little egg cup holder to hold it all together at just the right angle to film my best friend, who was amazing! She’s an actress and aspiring to become successful in that career. She did an amazing job. It was hilarious working with her.
Nick: Lorraine, you mentioned earlier about how important still having humour and levity in these films is! I’m curious to know, from your time working in the disability field, how have you seen people with disabilities affected by either how media portrays or includes them?
Lorraine Holmes: Look, I’ve got to be honest and say I don’t think that television and film is very inclusive of people with disabilities, you know? Often, you don’t see people [with disabilities] in advertisements. There’s just not that diversity.
That’s why I think this festival is really important, because it does focus on people with disabilities. I think it’s a real opportunity.
Nick: As someone working in and towards the media side of things now, Abbey, are you seeing ways that is changing for the better in the future?
Abbey Holmes: There’s definitely further to go for diversity and disabilities. Like, I want to see more disabled actors playing disabled roles in film and TV. That would be great!
I myself have ADHD and dyslexia, so I consider myself as part of the learning disability spectrum. And yes, getting through uni, they’re giving me a lot of support, which has helped a lot throughout.
And we do see a lot more people coming into roles that have a significant impact on youngers audiences because they have disabilities. But you still don’t really know that unless you research the actors who are a part of it.
Lorraine Holmes: I’ve watched quite a few films that have been made for this festival in the past, and you can see their purpose and value. But you do wonder how much exposure they would get outside of that domain.
Nick: Abbey, as someone who does have ADHD and dyslexia, how have you managed people who only view what you have as a negative experience? And are there aspects of those two learning disabilities that do have positive affects in your life?
Abbey Holmes: Oh, yeah, definitely! Because mum was working with people with disability for so long, she got me diagnosed at a very early age. She kind of saw all the signs since birth really. She got me all the help I needed, which was great.
I was kind of the “weird” kid in school. I think a lot of people say they are. But it didn’t really impact me all that much because I saw it, not as a challenge, but more as an opportunity because it gave me a lot of creativity.
I went to a performing arts high school. I did music, dance, drama, and media. And because of that, I had so much creative freedom to do stuff that I was interested in, which helped me along the way. And my teachers gave me a lot of support.
Lorraine Holmes: And something that we always stressed was to focus on the strengths of having ADHD and dyslexia, rather than the negatives. Look at how it helps with creativity. And that really came out when I threw down the challenge of could she make a movie, with zero budget, and the technology being just my iPad!
Thank you to Abbey and Lorraine for their time, and to Focus on Ability and NixCo PR for organising the interview. The Focus on Ability 2024 Red Carpet Awards is taking place on Sunday September 29 at The Concourse Concert Hall in Chatswood. You can find out more information here.
