About this Short Film
Engenhocas - 6ª Mostra Dislexia quando Arte, by Nadine Heisler (Brazil, 2026) is a gentle, reflective documentary that explores what it means to live and create with dyslexia through conversations and an art exhibition. The film invites people to describe their expectations and misunderstandings, alongside artists who describe how school systems abandoned them and how drawing and visual strategies helped them communicate and concentrate. Warm, candid and occasionally playful, it includes interactive exhibition elements that let visitors experience aspects of living in a highly literate world with dyslexia. Suited to young adults, adults, educators and art lovers, the film offers thoughtful perspectives on perception, inclusion and the creative strengths of people with dyslexia and is a welcome addition to the Focus on Ability programme.
Film Details
Film Transcript
I think the point that affects most, from what I researched, is the order of things, the sequence of things. And I realise that for me it hits a lot, a lot, a lot. School gave up on me very early and so I gave up on school, and the opposite side did too, very early. It was a mutual abandonment, you know?
I lived in the 70s, so no one spoke about dyslexia, it wasn't discussed. Imagine. And the only thing they attributed to someone who had learning difficulties was stupidity. So they associated it with being stupid and with laziness — "Ah, they're a bum, they're stupid," and so on. Learning in that format was impossible.
I remember someone saying, "How do I not treat you like someone who has dyslexia?" I said, "That's it, I want you to treat me like someone who has dyslexia." Many people, if I say "please draw so I can understand, draw," you know, I'll understand much better. If you make an arrow, if you make a circle, it'll be much easier for me and we'll have a much better exchange.
Art welcomes everyone and it welcomed me from an early age. So, because I had difficulty at school, one way for me to concentrate was drawing. I would draw and it calmed me. Some people have difficulty with one thing and others have ease with other things, and that exchange is necessary. Dyslexics have a lot to offer too, to help and to teach.
The idea for the exhibition came because there are many artists with dyslexia. So we thought it would be interesting if we could talk about dyslexia through art, if people could experience a bit of what it's like to have dyslexia, to live in this world we have, which is so literate, with dyslexia, but in a much calmer way, through the works these artists produce. We had the idea that people would leave messages and then this little contraption was created, you know, with the pipes. So we put the message inside a little ball to then pass through the pipe, fall into a basket, whether for the artists or for the exhibition; they choose what they want to talk about, who they want to send a message to. So it was very cool, it became a game and it was a lot of fun.
Dyslexia — I like to think it's a very advanced ability of the prefrontal cortex that makes you look at the world simply and make it more complex. After I understood that dyslexia was part of my life, it was a real relief to see myself as an intelligent person, a creative person in other ways than those we're taught at school. I'm very grateful for that, actually, because I'm sure that this tortuous and much slower path allowed me to discover unimaginable places, you know? Places most people pass by at stratospheric speed without even looking. So, because of it, I was able to take another route in life and be much happier, I believe, than I would have been if I'd had to force myself to be something I didn't want to be, you know?
Filmmaker
Nadine Heisler is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from Nadine Heisler.
