If you assume that someone can’t do something, you won’t get them to do it, or worse, won’t let them do it. So then they don’t. That an awful limit to put on anyone.
On World Down Syndrome Day, March 21, 2024, CoorDown, the National Coordination of Associations of People with Down Syndrome, is launching the international awareness campaign, Assume That I Can, to call for everyone to put an end to prejudice and support the concrete potential of each person who has Down syndrome.
The campaign was created by New York agency, SMALL. It was produced by Indiana Production and directed by Rich Lee, with Christopher Probst as director of photography. Music was composed and produced by Stabbiolo Music.
Stereotypes, biases and low expectations strongly affect every aspect of the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. They represent an often-impassable boundary which limits their ambitions, their opportunities at school, in the workplace, in sports, in their communities, friendships and romantic relationships.
“I discovered that in psychology there is a concept called “self-fulfilling prophecy”, whereby a teacher who thinks that a student cannot understand would just act accordingly and therefore they would not teach the student. And there you go: the prophecy self-fulfills. But in my opinion, there are no difficult or easy concepts, there is always a simple way to explain things. If I think of all the things that were not explained and taught to me, well I really get angry.” These are the words delivered by Marta Sodano, a 29-year-old Italian woman with Down syndrome, during the World Down Syndrome Day Conference at the United Nations to describe the hurdles she had to overcome in her school experience.
The self-fulfilling prophecy concept, first described in 1948 by the US sociologist Robert K. Merton and Marta Sodano’s words, inspired the campaign film that asks viewers to think outside the box and use the self-fulfilling prophecy positively. “If you believe in me, if you trust in me, you can have a positive impact, and then, maybe, I will achieve goals, even unexpected ones.”
The international campaign started with CoorDown in Italy, but several international associations are launching the film simultaneously worldwide: Canadian Down Syndrome Society, National Down Syndrome Society, Global Down Syndrome Foundation, Down’s Syndrome Association UK, Down Syndrome Australia and New Zealand Down Syndrome Association with the participation of members of the Fundació Catalana Síndrome de Down.
From today until March 21, CoorDown and partners’ social media will broadcast the real experiences of people with Down syndrome and their families from all over the world, sharing examples of the types of stereotypes experienced and the biases they’ve overcome. The #OfCourse trend has seen hundreds of thousands of people revealing the stereotypes they’ve experienced around their job, hobby or identity, while at the same time poking fun at these common perceptions. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Maria Carey have all participated on TikTok, we will call to action all those who wish to explain the stereotypes connected to their identity, maybe even poking fun or satirizing the common perceptions about them.
The film, Assume That I Can, will run on CoorDown’s TikTok channel and will be distributed on all the platforms of the organisation and its partners.
Madison Tevlin began her career at the age of 12 when her cover of John Legend’s All of Me went viral. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Madison is a model, advocate and actor. Her credits include: Mr D, Who Do You Think I Am, hosting the red carpet at the Canadian Screen Awards, and her famous role as Cosentino in the film, Champions, starring Woody Harrelson and directed by Bobby Farrelly. Madison is the first person with Down syndrome to be nominated for a Canadian Screen Award – Best Host, Talk Show or Entertainment News. Madison is a member of Best Buddies International, she walked the runway as part of the Knix Confidence Tour, was the keynote speaker at the Dear Mom conference in Laguna Beach and received the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy award in 2023 from the Global Down syndrome Foundation.
Antonella Falugiani, president, CoorDown, stated, “Changing the perspective with which we approach disability is the challenge launched by CoorDown for 2024. A new milestone that embraces the long journey made in 12 years of commitment to promoting the rights of people with Down syndrome with the Global Campaigns. We decided to launch a call to action, which aims to engage the whole society, not just our community, because disability really affects everyone, and everyone must be able to act to change the culture that produces discrimination. With the story of Assume That I Can we show how each of us can contribute to inclusion by listening and looking at people with Down syndrome, their needs and desires without warped filters. Only in this way can we tear down the walls that still limit the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.”
Luca Lorenzini and Luca Pannese, executive creative directors, SMALL New York, added,“This year, we wanted to make a very different film than in previous years. Taking inspiration from a speech Marta Sodano gave to the United Nations a few years ago, we set out to give a strong message against prejudice. Thanks to Madison’s great acting skills and versatility and the talent of director Rich Lee, we made a film full of energy that we hope will help break down the stereotypes that still restrict the dreams and plans of people with Down syndrome.”
Karim Bartoletti, partner, managing director & executive producer, Indiana Production, commented,“Every year, CoorDown, with their creative and production partners tries to disrupt perception on the world of disabilities with a campaign that can carry the weight of a strong creative insight that can shine a new light on stereotypes and biases that are part of the lives of people with Down syndrome – and all intellectual disabilities as a whole.
“We thought the insight of the campaign was so strong that we adopted it in every aspect of production. “You Assume that I will shoot this campaign like any other commercial that deals with disabilities?” “You assume we cannot find an actor or an actress that can carry the weight of the whole film on his or her shoulder?” “You assume we cannot get Rich Lee to direct it and Chris Probst to light it?” If we want to create awareness and break boundaries through the work that we create and produce, we need to do it ourselves. We assumed that we could and we certainly did, because it certainly shows in the originality and power and creative strength of this year’s Coordown World Down Syndrome Day campaign. We are very proud of how the Assume that I can campaign is unlike anything else we have seen or done before.”
Credits:
Creative Agency: SMALL
Executive Creative Directors: Luca Pannese, Luca Lorenzini
Creative Director: Paolo Montanari
Managing Director: Alberto Scorticati
Account Manager: Chiara Guadagnini
Production Company: Indiana Production S.p.A.
Director: Rich Lee
DP: Christopher Probst, ASC
Executive Producer: Karim Bartoletti
Senior Producer: Silvia Bergamaschi
Assistant Producer: Luca Bettinetti
1st AD: Andrew Coffing
Editor: Luca Angeleri
Original Music: Alessandro Cristofori & Diego Perugini for Stabbiolo Music
Colourist: Danilo Vittori
Post Production Audio: Bravagente
Senior Post Producer: Alga Pastorelli
Post Production: 22 Dogs
Service Company: Vivi Film Spain
Executive Producer: Carlos Soms
Production coordinator: Nerea Soms
Art Director: John Blud
Stylist: Cris Urso
