Seeing herself on the big screen was at times embarrassing, but Kylie is happy to put that aside if sharing her story helps change people’s mind about disability.
Kylie and her family shared their lives in the documentary ‘Because we have each other’, which has been screened across Australia and internationally.
Kylie, 26, hopes that when people see the film they are more accepting of people with disability.
“We shared our story to raise awareness about disability,” she said. “People with a disability are the same as everyone else – they are not different – they just have struggles. I hope when people see our story they are more accepting of people with disabilities.”
Described as ‘tender and wondrous … a portrait of life, love and a family unlike any other’,
the documentary follows the lives of Kylie and her four siblings, all who have disabilities, her dad and stepmother, Janet.
The family was approached by award-winning director Sari Braithwaite to feature in the documentary after she read a story about them in the local paper.
“Janet thought it was a scam at first,” Kylie said of the invitation for a documentary to be made about the family. “But it ended up being true and we all said, ‘yes’ straight away.”
Kylie, who has learning difficulties, autism and epilepsy, lives in a Multicap Supported Independent Living house, having moved out of the family home four years ago.
She works three days a week as a packing assistant at a social enterprise in Brisbane, and on Saturdays joins friends from Multicap’s Marsden Hub for a social bbq, a trip to the movies or a game of bowling.
The film crew followed Kylie in her everyday life across a number of days, doing a variety of things from shopping for a birthday card for her dad to her favourite pastime, dancing.
“It was strange at first,” Kylie said of being filmed. “But I got used to it.”
Kylie and her family travelled to the Melbourne International Film Festival to see the world premiere of the documentary last year.
“I got a little bit nervous seeing myself and I got a bit embarrassed watching some scenes of me dancing, but it was good,” Kylie said.
And despite being followed by a film crew and co-starring in the documentary, Kylie says she’s still the same person.
“It hasn’t changed me – I just know there is a movie out there and I hope people will watch it and understand more about people with disability.”
To find out more about the documentary, visit: https://becausewehaveeachother.com/