DARUMA is authentic representation in action, on screen.
It’s the first film in US cinematic history to star two authentically cast disabled leads in a narrative not about overcoming disability – and it’s coming to Australian screens next month.
Executive produced by Oscar winner Peter Farrelly (Green Book) DARUMA has the support of numerous disability organisations including Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, EasterSeals, Disability Belongs, The Media Access Awards and others.
The film stars Tobias Forrest (a C-level quadriplegic), John W. Lawson (a double hand amputee), Abigail Hawk of CBS Blue Bloods and Barry Bostwick (Rocky Horror Picture Show) in a tale about friendship, fatherhood, and found family.
17 years in the making, DARUMA tells the story of Patrick, a wheelchair user, discovering he has a four-year-old daughter from a forgotten fling. He quickly learns that he cannot parent her as she needs and enlists the help of his cantankerous neighbor Robert, a double amputee, to transport her to live with her maternal grandparents on the other side of the country.
The film won accolades on the festival circuit including Best Actor awards for both leads.
It is also accessible: people who are blind or have low vision can watch the movie by downloading the free All4Access audio description app and playing the DARUMA audio descriptions as the movie plays. The film also has captions.
DARUMA bills itself as a film that flips tired disability tropes on their heads and tells an engaging story that anyone can relate to.
Find out more about the film on its website or watch it from September 1.