About this Short Film
James (2025), by Anne Di Martino, comes to us from Hawaii. This short film offers a thoughtful reflection on inclusion, family and adolescence as it looks at the experiences of a teenager with Down Syndrome and cognitive processing disability. Themes of siblings, individual strengths and everyday challenges are present throughout, presented with care and clear-eyed honesty. It sits neatly within the Focus on Ability International Short Film Festival, contributing a personal perspective on intellectual disability and the bonds that shape young lives. Short, direct and human, James invites viewers to notice the small moments that reveal resilience and connection.
Film Details
Film Transcript
The other day, as I lay in my mother's lap, she told me about when she found out my little brother James was Downs. Unlike other Downs children, James was born with creases on his palms, something which befuddled maternity nurses into believing he was a normal child. When they returned from his incubator 24 hours later, they delivered the news to my mother. Her heart sank.
The news wouldn't come easy to my father, who had cared for his handicapped twin brother, Marius, for decades. [Music] He bore witness to many hardships in his brother's life: his mother hiding him in closets whenever their sister had a boy over, hospital staff breaking his bones, his eyes dabbed out by a disturbed patient while in an underfunded state institution. So when Dad turned away, Mom thought they had given up on my brother for good. [Music] But when she saw James, she couldn't get over how cute he was. [Music]
Typically, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes. Babies with DS have 47. This happens because of an abnormal cell division during the development of the sperm or egg cells. But at home, we say that God loved James so much that he made him extra. This copy changes how the baby's body and brain develop, which can cause both mental and physical challenges: hearing loss, heart defects, eyesight issues. James has fought and overcome almost all the items on this list. Meanwhile, I've never even broken a bone. Despite this, he still finds a way to smile and laugh every day. He's the happiest person I know.
The other night, James saw me crying. The stress of young adult life had been getting to me. Anxiety and guilt gummed my brain to defeatism. He stood for a few minutes before he walked over and sat across from me. [Music] I soon realised the error of my perspective and embraced him in a hug. With no words exchanged, I realised the way he saw it. If I was fine, he would be fine, too. The world felt a little smaller and my heart a lot larger. He looked up at me with opened eyes and a voice in my head said, "Everything is going to be okay." [Music] I hate it.
Filmmaker
Anne Di Martino is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from Anne Di Martino.
