THE first Irish film in which all the principal actors have intellectual disabilities has set its sights on the world’s leading film festivals.
Sanctuary is a fictional drama in which a boy with Down’s syndrome runs off with a girl with severe epilepsy.
The Irish Film Board has given €225,000 to the project, with the Broadcast Authority of Ireland (BAI) expected to follow suit.
Sanctuary is framed around the controversial Irish law that makes it illegal for people with intellectual disabilities to have sex unless they are married.
The principal members of the cast all have intellectual disabilities, including five actors with Down’s syndrome and several with severe epilepsy.
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The production, which is intended to shoot at the end of the year, is produced by Zanzibar Films with a screenplay by Christian O’Reilly, who previously wrote Inside I’m Dancing, in which James McAvoy played the physically disabled Rory O’Shea. Sanctuary has a budget of €740,000 and is based on a play of the same name by O’Reilly.
“The plan is to go for a theatrical release, hopefully something like Cannes or a big festival,” said Edwina Forkin, a producer on the project. “Nothing of this nature, with the whole cast having intellectual disabilities, has ever been done before.”
The plot revolves around Larry, a man with Down’s syndrome, and Sophie, who has severe epilepsy. On a trip to the cinema with their carer, the two abscond from the group and head to a hotel room.
The couple are attracted to each other and, in the hotel room, must negotiate how their relationship will work.
Neither knows much about sex or about legal issues. While Larry and Sophie are missing, the rest of the characters have separate adventures around Galway. Two minor roles are played by actors without disabilities.
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The film features the same cast as the play, and is being made in collaboration with Blue Teapot, a theatre company for people with intellectual disabilities.
The actors are used to daily rehearsals and Forkin said that the only difference from shooting with any other cast is that their days have to be slightly shorter.
“[Sophie and Larry] want to be alone and to have some intimate time with each other. They are into each other,” said Forkin.
“But then, it unravels and she says, ‘I didn’t come for that,’ [meaning sex] and he thinks that’s what is expected when you spend time together. It’s a kind of naivety. Then everyone ends up in the hotel room and they’re discussing all the issues about love, equality and why are they not treated equally?”
Sarah Lennon, advocacy officer with Inclusion Ireland, said it was currently working to change the law and that heads of bill were drafted last year. However, she doubted any progress would be made before next year’s general election.
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Lennon said: “The problem from our point of view is that people are prevented from having what would probably be consensual sexual relationships. This has a chilling effect on policy and education. If you’re two people with intellectual disabilities in a consensual relationship, according to the law they could be committing an offence on each other, which is ludicrous. The law was designed to protect people but it was poorly constructed and it goes too far.”