Cannes Lions

Here I Am

THE CORNER, London / MENCAP / 2017

Film
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The film opens on a shot of Casey, an 18-year-old DJ who has Down’s Syndrome. The following voiceover plays:

‘’There is no reason to feel guilty about putting a Downs Syndrome child away. True guilt arises only from an offence against a person. And a Downs is not a person.’’ Joseph Fletcher, 1968. The Atlantic Magazine.

The above is a direct quote from The Atlantic Magazine in 1968 and is representative of the wide-held view that people with Down’s Syndrome were subhuman and deserved to be euthanised.

Casey then uses his DJ skills to ‘scratch’ and ‘mix’ the outdated quote, transforming it into a positive statement saying ‘‘a Downs is a person’’.

Casey continues to ‘scratch’ and destroy the original quote as his friends witness his talent. The endframe appears, revealing the campaign line ‘HERE I AM’. The call to action says ‘I’m not a learning disability. Search ‘Understand me’.

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