This programme has now ended but you can still see details of the films below.
Surviving a Brain Haemorrhage. Rhiannon Barker. UK. 2024. 5:57. FFF. DD. After surviving a life-threatening Brain Haemorrhage, Maia turned her experience into a powerful poetry film to raise awareness about the effects of brain injury and mental health.
10 Voices. Shadowlight Artists. UK. 2025. 6:41. DDD. Online Premiere. The Shadowlight Artists are a collective of learning-disabled artists. This short colour documentary, created by the artists, highlights the talents of ten learning-disabled and neurodivergent artists. It showcases their passion for the arts, including drawing, painting, photography, dance, writing, filmmaking, poetry, and comedy. The film was commissioned by the Museum of Oxford as part of their 50th anniversary special exhibition – Special Exhibition: “Our Oxford: 50 Years, 50 Stories” runs 26 April 2025 – 3 January 2026.
Brother, I Stole Your Chromosome!. Leah Mei Gold. USA. 2025. 3:04s. DD. FFF. World Premiere. When Grace, a girl obsessed with diagnoses and quick fixes, dreams she steals the 47th chromosome from her brother who has Down syndrome, she finds herself in a body that experiences the world in a whole new way. As she navigates sensory overload and misunderstood emotions, Grace discovers that there’s no such thing as normal. There’s no one-size-fits-all, forever fix—because humans aren’t broken; we’re constantly changing, and so are our needs.
Kaleidoscope. Clay Antonio. Australia. 2025. 10:40. F. DD. Written by students with an intellectual disability “Kaleidoscope” is a deeply emotional story about a young woman who, over time, begins to understand her father’s metaphor of love as a shifting kaleidoscope—where colours and patterns endlessly change. Through her own experience of falling in love and heartbreak, she comes to see that love is more than just weightless feelings; it’s a Kaleidoscope of moments that can turn, shift, and evolve in ways we never expect. Her father also realises that love’s patterns are fragile and unpredictable—shaped by both fears and hope, and that sometimes… the greatest act of love is to let go. Together, they discover that love, with all its turbulence and beauty, is a gift worth cherishing—ever-changing, yet eternally profound.
Sugar Crash. Eva Young. USA. 2025. 00:39. DD. FF. European Premiere. In this satirical microshort by high schooler Eva Young, inspired by her personal experience with T1 diabetes, Shitty DNA Labs shares their latest product: Type 1 Diabetes! (but don’t mind the side effects).
#Numb. Dean W. Evans. UK. 2025. 3:32. D. Seb, an aspiring filmmaker, stops taking his medication, and ends up going through a hectic burnout. Dean Evans grew up in Christchurch, Dorset, UK and has directed numerous short films on the themes of mental health, spirituality and children’s films.
That Paradise Place. Tim Griffin Allan. US. 13m. D. In 2024 over 60 artists with and without disabilities worked together to create a puppet musical about love, sex and fantasy lives of people with disabilities. Twelve artists boldly shared their deepest desires, which formed the basis of the songs in the show. These are some of their stories.