The Way You See It (Wyndham College, Australia, 2023) is a short film presented in the Focus on Ability International Short Film Festival. Rather than summarise a plot, this work explores themes around achievement, employment pathways and personal goals for young people. It brings attention to vision impairment and physical disability alongside school life, motivation and the relationship some young people have with horses. Shot with an encouraging, upbeat tone, the film aims to inspire and prompt conversation about inclusion and opportunity for teenagers moving towards work and independence. A concise, thoughtful contribution to a programme dedicated to showcasing ability, resilience and aspiration.
My name is Christine Douglas, I'm 19 years old, I'm in year 11 at Wyndham College in the Narimba Precinct and I live in Colby. The goal of this documentary is to not only educate people about my disability but to also inspire people to keep on moving despite the challenges they may face in life. I think it will help people better understand people with vision impairments, how to approach them, how to help them if they think that they may need help and to also inspire people to keep on going. So my vision impairment is called optic nerve hyperplasia, this is where the optic nerve didn't develop at birth. So for other people they may see sharp clean edges whereas for me my vision is disrupted with very very slight blurriness that makes objects less distinct to see. I've dealt with this challenge since birth and over time I have begun to subconsciously memorise new situations, when that situation pops up again I typically can see a little bit better than what I did the previous time. Apart from my disability I also wanted to share all the things that I have achieved over the years and that I am very very proud of. I'm currently enrolled in Wyndham College for my HSC and the subjects that I am doing is work studies, business services, design and technology, software design and development, film studies and English studies and I enjoy all my subjects that I do. Film studies has really helped me in creating this documentary by teaching me about lighting, editing and camera equipment and most of my subjects are technology based which has helped me in reaching my goal to work at Microsoft. Back in 2020 me and my teammate won the AI for Good Schools Challenge by creating a VI headset to allow the blind and visually impaired to play video games. That required us getting into groups and really thinking outside the box and designing something that would change a community or benefit the world. But my vision impairment doesn't stop me from doing the things that I love. I also love riding horses. I started riding eight years ago when I met Sue Ellen Lovett who is a blind Paralympian. I did struggle with finding someone who would take me on because they saw me as a liability risk which I am thankful for my riding instructor now who took me on thinking that I am just like anyone else who would want to learn about horses. Now I have a horse named Sam, he is a 10 year old thoroughbred, he is actually an ex-race horse as well. My goals with Sam would be to go out to riding for the disabled competitions and able bodied competitions and hopefully one day I will be a part of the Australian Para Equestrian Team. After winning the AI for Good Schools Challenge I met Jenny Leigh Flurry who is the Chief of Accessibility and during our conversation she challenged me to take a position from her when she retires. Since then instead of dropping out from school I decided to stay in school and finish my HSC to one day work for Microsoft, move my way up the ranks and get to Chief of Accessibility. Now I am doing a traineeship with Microsoft at their technology centre in Martin Place. I am really enjoying working at Microsoft and it doesn't feel like work. And that is how I configure the adaptive hub to make things more efficient. So with me completing the HSC, me learning new riding skills and winning the AI for Good Schools Challenge and working for Microsoft, the one thing I want everyone to take away from this documentary today is to embrace your challenges and give everything a go. And that's a wrap.
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The Way You See It by Wyndham College (2023)
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The Way You See It
by Wyndham College - SCHOOL DOCUMENTARIES
