Ray of Hope (A Hidden Story) by Christine Jeyachandran (Australia, 2023) is a short film that explores themes of mental health, physical disability and everyday movement. Made for the Focus on Ability International Short Film Festival, it invites audiences to consider perception, prejudice and the stigma often attached to Parkinsons and depression. The film also touches on motivation, exercise and the individual ways people respond to physical and emotional challenges. It does not offer easy answers, but gently prompts viewers to reframe what ability and hope can look like. Screening at the festival, it encourages conversation about how we view resilience in daily life.
It's like the worst hangover you could ever imagine. You feel, I feel kind of halfway between being dead and alive. Ray arrived in Lima, Peru 40 years ago to serve the poor. He left the priesthood but found another wonderful reason to stay. I'm married to Ana Maria Tamayo Flores from Cusco, who is the love of my life, and I have two children. I remember so well when the doctor who examined me first out said to me, be careful who you tell that you have Parkinson's, because here in Peru they are very prejudiced against people who are living with Parkinson's. I would say I easily have 40 symptoms or more. Probably the one I find most difficult at the moment is walking. I find it difficult to get in and out of bed. When I'm off, that off means when the medicine is not working, I become like half a corpse. And then on top of that, if I get freezing, you know, your feet stick to the ground. If those two come together, it's pretty painful, or painful in the sense of pretty hard to cope with. Parkinson's is not just movement symptoms. It affects every part of your body. The emotional dimension, the mental health is critical, not just physical, and for that it is very important the movement, the exercise, the sport, but without emotional health, it is much more complicated. I didn't make an effort to nurture friendships. I tended to pull myself back and stay in the house. Back to the family. It's present in my day-to-day life, because I saw that it was getting better, and I didn't want to take any medication. You asked the question, Christine, what brought about change in my attitude towards Parkinson's. I can't remember exactly the year. I wrote on Facebook telling the world that I had Parkinson's. I got back quite a few replies, over 200, and some very beautiful messages. The decision to go public was the biggest and most important freeing experience I've had, and has kind of fueled the energy within me now to look at the future with more hope. I can reconstruct my life differently, but equally valuable from here on out, and not look ahead too far, just because each day has enough of complications and possibilities. It's a tough challenge, but there are some wonderful moments in it also. With the help of others, we may be able to celebrate the good moments, and they can fuel your energy, and your hope, and your happiness.
Filmmaker
Christine Jeyachandran is the filmmaker behind this entry.
Filmmaker profile pages are coming soon — in the meantime you can
browse all their films in the search.
?
0 comments
More Films Like This
Ray of Hope (A Hidden Story) by Christine Jeyachandran (2023)
Press Esc or click outside to close
Confirm Your Vote
Ray of Hope (A Hidden Story)
by Christine Jeyachandran - OPEN ENTRANT DOCUMENTARIES
