Svenja is a young woman who is in the middle of life, gives lectures, works as an activist and always has to place herself in the context of her environment and reflect on it, because: Svenja has been in a wheelchair since childhood with congenital cerebral palsy, has tetraspasticity and relies on 24-hour assistance. But Svenja is not only fighting to be allowed to take her place as a fully-fledged woman within this society, she also wants to go one step further: she wants to become a mother.
Singing, tickling, scratching, blowing.
According to a youth welfare office in Berlin, Svenja is unable to do these things due to her disability and is therefore unable to care for a foster child, among other things, and was therefore rejected as a foster mother. Svenja counters: “Of course I can sing, tickle, scratch and blow! No one ever asked about that. Instead, flimsy arguments are used because no one has the courage to think outside the box. Because no one in the authorities dares to believe an adult woman in a wheelchair that she knows her abilities and limitations."
Devastating reports and assessments ultimately lead to the question: Is inclusion only practiced on paper?
Time and again, there are touching reportages of parents who, despite a disability, do not give up on themselves and their children and ultimately manage everything somehow with institutional support - but that is not the standard! This movie has to be different. An important antagonist in our portrayal is not just an office or an authority, but rather an entire system. It's about political decisions, the moral compass of each individual, the courage or displeasure of a society and the question of discrimination and dehumanization. The protagonist is not forced into the role of a victim, but is shown in all her greatness. We accompany Svenja on her journey, wherever it may lead.
SYNOPSIS
SKETCH
We are planning a 90-minute documentary film, the production of which will give in to the subject's own dynamics. We don't want to force or construct anything, but rather tell the story of our protagonist as authentically as possible. Our team is made up of film students and graduates of the BHT, Filmuni Babelsberg and the dffb.
Was Wäre Wenn is a self-organized project that was created out of interest in and the relevance of the topic and is expected to be filmed by 2025. Especially with such a complex, but also personal topic for the protagonist, we want to proceed with great sensitivity and care and give everyone and everything the appropriate time and space. As a team, we are investing a lot of time in this film and there are also regular costs for technology, catering and transportation. So if there are people who find the topic relevant and our approach interesting, then we would be delighted to receive financial donations, which will help us in any case. In this context, we are in close contact with the Network of Creatives (NdK), on whose homepage we are listed as a project worthy of support.
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