About this Short Film
High Abili Tea (2019), from Gympie Flexible Learning Centre, Australia, explores themes of cooking, group participation and inclusion in a school setting. The short film draws attention to the skills and friendships that can flourish among teenagers with intellectual disability, presented with warmth and respect. As part of the Focus on Ability International Short Film Festival, it sits within a program dedicated to showcasing the abilities, experiences and achievements of people with disability. Quiet and unassuming, High Abili Tea invites audiences to notice everyday moments of collaboration, independence and joy without spectacle.
Film Details
Film Transcript
Younger parents get to bring their kids to school so they can still learn. We get free food.
What I do differently at my school is hospitality. We do school work, but we're not always doing school work — we're doing cooking and something. The school helps us a lot compared to other schools I've been to.
Flexi asked if they could combine their media skills and the special skills, cooking abilities, to make this film. There was a whole bunch of people that I didn't know: like, weird, strange, rude. Yeah. Well, I kind of think you look great and what looks more exciting, and I think making movies might be excellent.
This is how Gympie flexi got to meet Gympie Special. We played these games to get to know each other; it helped us to get to know them better. Someone has to tag us. Ohh, because they were getting killed. Yeah, they were getting killed. Yeah, the guys are soldiering, yeah.
We wanted to show you what we're good at, what we are good at and how we cook well. Half of us thought, "Oh yeah this would be good, this will be fun."
Some of the things we made were scones and pastry. It was busy; it was a lot of hard work. Yes — more concentration. You had to concentrate. You had to get all the ingredients, get all the utensils you needed. Fun! Very fun. We're good at cooking and working together.
We did have pancakes. You helped with the pancakes, didn't you, George? Yeah. Muffins, cupcakes, delivering the food. To me it's like a nightmare. Flexi Kids Tea House — big long table with heaps of food. Fancy, snazy. Sit and relax, not being on our feet all day. It felt like freedom. It was wonderful.
Filmmaker
Gympie Flexible Learning Centre is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from Gympie Flexible Learning Centre.
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Just fantastic work
Amazing work
Excellent work everyoneA delight to see and it appears a delight to create and eat.Well done all
It looks like everyone gained some great experiences from making this movie. And that makes you all winners
It was a fantastic experience to work with all these young people from both school. They worked amazingly together and should be very proud of themselves.