A world turned inside out
JEREMY isn’t like the others. He’s a dud, the slang term for people without a disability in a short film that was shot in Geelong and released this week.
Jeremy the Dud is a small flick with a big heart that’s flipping the script on disability and being thoroughly entertaining in the process.
The trailer has attracted about 4.5 million views since its August release and there’s been interest internationally.
Jeremy the Dud is the story of a man “without specialty” living in a world where having a disability is the norm and the few who don’t — the “duds” — experience some of the condescending and patronising attitudes that people with disabilities face in society today.
It stars 22 people with a disability, and only two without — including main character Jeremy, played by Nick Boshier, of Bondi Hipsters and Soul Mates fame.
Other characters include a horrible boss in a wheelchair, Kyle the womanising amputee (played by Paralympic swimmer Adam Bowes, who featured in Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge) and his cheeky chum Jai (Melbourne-based Kiwi actor Sam Humphreys), who has a rare genetic condition called skeletal dysplasia, which means he’s only 127cm tall).
The 20-minute flick was commissioned and co-created by genU (formerly Karingal St Laurence), a not-for-profit organisation helping people with disability reach their potential through in-home support, skills development, training and activities.
Its aim for the movie, made by local production company Robot Army, was to create awareness and encourage thought and discussion around the way people with disability are treated, and give genU participants the chance to be cast and be part of something new and exciting.
“The idea for Jeremy the Dud grew from a desire to encapsulate the brave, adventurous, passionate and fun-loving nature of our participants that we see every day as we support them to realise their dreams,” genU boss Mike McKinstry said.
“We committed to doing something big to help people see the ability in people, rather than the disability, and to see people as who they are, not how people might otherwise portray them.”
Robot Army’s Ryan Chamley wrote and directed the movie partly after seeing prejudice first-hand. His sister has MS, which has given him insight into how people with a disability are often treated.
Chloe Hayden, 20, from Inverleigh, plays Heidi, the film’s voice of reason.
Hayden, who has been an extra in Neighbours and Upper Middle Bogan and starred in several musicals and plays in the Geelong area, hopes to pursue acting, singing and dancing professionally.
After struggling through her childhood and early teens, she was diagnosed with Asperger’s, a form of autism, at 13.
“I was always Mum and Dad’s weird and quirky kid,” she said. “I’d be up all night reading encyclopedias and I wouldn’t have friends at school, so I’d go and find injured birds.”
At school, Hayden endured intense bullying — including physical attacks, being locked in lockers and her shoes being stolen — because she didn’t fit in. At a psychologist’s urging, Hayden’s parents took her out of school and she finished high school by distance education.
Her speech improved significantly, she won academic awards for most of her subjects and she got into musical theatre. Last year, she received Geelong’s People with a Disability Young Achiever Award.
She has also embarked on an online campaign to help others. As Princess Aspien, she encourages, educates and advocates for those also on the autism spectrum, with her social media accounts, blog, website and YouTube channel.
After a horseriding accident last year, the stress of being an autistic teen thrust into an adult hospital set off anorexia.
But her commitment to her followers — as well as establishing new boundaries with food, thanks to a vegan diet — helped her recover.
“If I’m not well, I’m not strong,” Hayden says. “And I can’t get out and do all the things I love like horseriding. If I’m weak I can’t control a 600kg animal. I do so much work with other kids on the spectrum … and I feel like they look up to me.”
See Jeremy the Dud at facebook.com/jeremythedud