About this Short Film
Belinda, directed by Zoe Markos (Australia, 2018), is an intimate short documentary portrait of a performer whose childhood love of musicals—especially The Sound of Music—becomes the throughline of her life. In candid first-person reflections she describes being told as a child she would never walk or talk, living with a rare chromosome 10 condition and encountering organisations that discouraged her from singing or acting. Warm, direct and quietly defiant, the film shows how performance gives her agency and a renewed sense of self, challenging assumptions about participation in the arts. Belinda will appeal to audiences interested in disability, creativity and lived experience, and sits naturally within the Focus on Ability programme.
Film Details
Film Transcript
One night Mum and Dad heard me in my room and I was making a sound, and I couldn't believe it because the doctors told Mum and Dad that I would never be able to walk or talk.
I've got all these disabilities wrapped in one. Oh, it's called chromosome 10, which means there's only a few in the world and normally only one is born with it.
I've been in organisations before where they've said, you know, that I shouldn't sing, shouldn't act. Without singing, without acting, well, where would my life be? No, no, maybe for a second I thought about it, but then I said, "Nah — I'm not going to give this up; I'm going to keep going."
I'm a different person when I sing on stage. I don't have any problems, I don't have any disabilities or anything — I'm a new woman. I'm alive. With and without a disability, you can do stuff. Don't just sit on a couch and be a lazy bum.
Filmmaker
Zoe Markos is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from Zoe Markos.
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Belinda you are an awesome lady and a fantastic human being. Keep on rocking your goals.