"Belinda. The Singer Who Learnt To Walk" by Phoebe Shumack (Australia, 2023) is a short film included in the Focus on Ability International Short Film Festival. Through music and movement, it explores themes of achievement, adult life with a congenital disability, and the role of physio and singing in an individual's life. The film offers a personal, human portrait that brings warmth and honesty. Viewers can expect an intimate cinematic approach that emphasises skill, resilience and creativity rather than pity. It sits comfortably in our program as a work that celebrates ability and the everyday practices that shape how people express themselves and pursue goals.
When I've been in hospital, I put on music and it makes me feel good. I don't know what I'd do without music because it can take you into a world, into another world. I don't see any fridge in my life that I wouldn't listen to music because I love it. This is the moment, this is the day, when I say no more. I've got disabilities, I've got a rare chromosome abnormality and there's only eight people in the world that have it. Some people say it's one in a million but I think I'm one in a billion. When I was little, I did a lot of physio on my arms and legs because they were floppy. Because when I was born, people thought I had cell palsy. Watching the sound of music helped me with my speech and my physio and my singing. I started making some noises in my cot when I was little and mum heard me and she couldn't believe it. It was me and I was singing the song My Favourite Things. It's not just Julie Andrews that helped me, it's my mum and dad and it's my nan and it's my pop. They never give up on me, they just didn't want to give up on me. They thought there is something that we can do and we're going to do it. For the first time I had a cassette player and I played it over and over until it wore out. I even went to dance school and they were so up themselves. Like I won and the parents and the students said, why did you win? She's only been here a few months and then she won. It's hard because people don't look at you the right way that they look at people without disabilities. We've got feelings like everybody else and I want people to accept people with disabilities. Accept me, accept everybody. It doesn't mean you can't do things that you like. People think that you can't do this and you can't do that and you can. Every day, every endeavour.
Filmmaker
Phoebe Shumack 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
Belinda. The Singer Who Learnt To Walk by Phoebe Shumack (2023)
Press Esc or click outside to close
Confirm Your Vote
Belinda. The Singer Who Learnt To Walk
by Phoebe Shumack - OPEN ENTRANT DOCUMENTARIES
