About this Short Film
Walking in Two Worlds (Leon Rakai & Corina Abraham, Australia, 2022) is a short film in the Focus on Ability program. The work explores themes of disability and identity, touching on amputation, blindness and diabetes alongside Indigenous experience. It offers perspectives on access, justice and personal motivation, inviting audiences to reflect on the challenges and strengths of people with disability. Crafted with care, the film sits comfortably within the festival’s aim to showcase diverse abilities, experiences and achievements. Walking in Two Worlds asks viewers to listen, learn and consider how community, health and justice shape everyday life.
Film Details
Film Transcript
Over the years I've suffered many illnesses, but diabetes has been the main complication. I was diagnosed in 2009. Over those years I had a lot of complications in between with my heart and with diabetes while working — suffering little infections on and off. I couldn't afford my medication back then for diabetes. It wasn't recognised how we struggled as diabetics when we had no support. I had a mortgage at the time and it was really hard. I couldn't afford my insulin back then, so over the years my diabetes got neglected while I was working for government.
Throughout 2009 and over the years I suffered diabetic neuropathy, diabetic gastroparesis, diabetic retinopathy with my eyes — so I'm clinically blind in my left eye with minimal vision in my right. I have diabetic vascular disease and peripheral damage. I have diabetic nephropathy and hypoglycaemia. I've had hypertension throughout the years. My heart's that bad; I suffer bad heart disease nowadays.
In 2012 I had an amputation on my right big toe. In 2012 neuropathic pain got worse and my nerve damage worsened throughout my body. In 2011 is when my kidneys failed. I was on peritoneal dialysis and then started haemodialysis — that's when my kidneys failed. I fell ill and ended up in ICU at Freo Hospital Emergency. They gave me up in 2011. I nearly died; they told me I had six to eight months to live. But here I am today still talking to you.
Mob in this country — here, Perth is our Bibbulmun people. We're now known today as Noongar people. Assimilation and colonisation changed us Indigenous people around the world. We had concentration camps set up in this country. In a way today the concentration camps are their prisons that my people are imprisoned in.
The work I do I still do today because there's so many gaps in our government systems, and yeah, it keeps me going because it's just sad that government don't see what's happening in the grassroots. [Applause]
Today is a mourning day. Many of my old people before me stood up and fought for this day not to be celebrated, so we need my people — our younger generations — to come and stand and continue this fight because my voice won't be around much longer. It won't be around; my fight will end soon, but I need my people to continue this fight because here it is right in here. It keeps me going and fighting for country, fighting for my people and fighting for you. This battle, that's what keeps my spirit going. So that's why I know we've always got a purpose in life because of our sick. I am now disabled. Never mind I'm dying, I'll keep fighting for this land and fighting for my people so they don't have to go through what I went through. [Music] you
Filmmaker
Leon Rakai & Corina Abraham is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from Leon Rakai & Corina Abraham.
