About this Short Film
3 in One, directed by Timothy Chilenga (Malawi, 2020), is a thoughtful short that addresses themes around blindness, sensory disability, employment and independence. The film touches on everyday roles such as teacher and farmer, and flags health issues like measles and their impact on individuals and communities. It does not presume a single narrative; instead it offers a sensitive portrait that invites reflection on support, work and personal agency. Shown as part of the Focus on Ability International Short Film Festival, 3 in One adds a Malawian voice to conversations about ability and inclusion, and will resonate with audiences interested in social and personal resilience.
Film Details
Film Transcript
I was not born blind; I was born sighted, of course, but attacked by measles after three years. Goat farming is now four years old.
Anyway, we are an organisation. We do support fellow blind persons with assistance from persons who are excited and who are willing to do so in our area. As members of the organisation they register as members. It's Language Action Support for the Visually Impaired. Persons with visual impairment and other sighted persons came together to form that organisation with an aim of supporting the visually impaired persons in several ways so that they are self-reliant.
What we do is ask the supporters to go around; they find out where the visual person is and they assist him accordingly. If he is at a good, young age of going to school we do provide them professionals to school. We do also provide them provisions to go to a vocational school like Murang Vocational Centre for the Blind and the other centres.
What motivated me to join the group is that we wanted to develop the lives and good livelihood of the way the blind persons live in our area. That is to end things like begging and suffering and, of course, selection, because many people also segregate the visually impaired persons and the disabled persons. We wanted to abolish this in our district so that we enjoy as everyone and blind persons also have access to do their own things because they are self-reliant.
This is very beneficial and helpful indeed, because as I'm talking whenever I have a problem I just come here and sell a goat; that problem is solved. And as well, it is, you know, meat, so when I feel like eating meat I can take one from this goat farming. We also do some crop farming when we are assisted by friends and well-wishers. We grow crops like maize to share among the most vulnerable blind persons and also for sustainability. When we don't have fertiliser we grow crops that do not need fertiliser; in this last growing season we have grown cassava because we did not have fertiliser.
I'm a primary school teacher. This is a school of this area — a school for sighted persons — and I'm the only blind person there. I teach sighted persons; I teach standards seven and eight and sometimes I go to teach standards three and four.
Filmmaker
Timothy Chilenga is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from Timothy Chilenga.
Great work my brother God bless you. I have learnt something