Winner of the Audience Award at Lebron James’ Uninterrupted Film Festival, EQUAL PLAY is a powerful documentary that highlights the need for equal access to school sports for disabled children, with just one in four saying they currently take part in sports at school.
EQUAL PLAY summary
The story focuses on two British children, Marley, a teenager from London whose life has been profoundly changed by sport; and Tammy, who struggles with barriers to physical activity at her school and experiences daily exclusion.
The film follows both children as they are sidelined in school and demand their right to be treated equally in access to sports and PE. Marley discovers his confidence and social skills through boxing, while Tammy is inspired by ParalympicsGB star, Hannah Cockcroft to take up wheelchair racing and explore her competitive side on the racetrack.
By capturing the nuanced joy and empowerment that sports can bring to disabled individuals, EQUAL PLAY highlights the positive change that inclusion can create.
A disability-led production
Directed by Lily Ahree Siegel, the film was produced by Emmy award-winning Harder Than You Think Productions [Rising Phoenix] and Robert Ford [Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story]. Executive producers include Koji Yanai [Perfect Days], Greg Nugent (Harder Than You Think), Anna Scott-Marshall [ParalympicsGB], Barnaby Spurrier [Rising Phoenix, Somers Town] and playwright/screenwriter Jack Thorne.
Over 45% of the shooting crew and HODs across the entire production were identified as disabled. EQUAL PLAY was developed in accordance with FWD-DOC disability guidelines and the expert advice of Disability Consultant Lindsey Dryden.
The crew were hired through various organizations and groups dedicated to disability inclusion, including Disability Arts Online, D&I, FWD Doc, and DANC. All crew members received Access Riders during onboarding and monitored our progress through anonymous monitoring forms to ensure wellbeing on set.
Improving access to sports in schools
Lily Ahree Siegel, director said: “This subject matter is particularly close to my heart due to personal experiences. I was the kid who found PE daunting, questioning why I couldn’t perform as effortlessly as others.
“This film project is a tribute to the 11-year-old version of myself, and to all the kids who face similar barriers to access PE and sport, ones who have gone through both personal struggles and glorious victories of self-accomplishment. EQUAL PLAY celebrates inclusive disabled joy around movement, and how society must keep pushing towards this.”
Hannah Cockroft, seven-time Paralympic Champion said: “I still remember the moment I won my first Paralympic Gold medal in the T34 100m, at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ten years on, disabled children are sitting on the sidelines when para-athletes are now household names in the UK. Awareness and acceptance of Para-sports is growing, and yet currently, thousands of disabled children are missing out on the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. I hope our documentary EQUAL PLAY raises awareness of the necessity for equal access to school sports for all disabled children.”
Greg Nugent, executive producer and co-founder & president of Harder Than You Think Productions concluded: “We have something incredible in EQUAL PLAY and the team at Harder Than You Think Productions are honoured to have been entrusted with Tammy and Marley’s stories which we hope will impact disabled children’s lives for the better. Our goal is always to make films that go way beyond the usual in terms of inclusive and representative production standards – we want to inspire others in the industry to be more open to disability inclusion.”
EQUAL PLAY will air on Channel 4 on Monday 26th August at 6pm.
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