Sunday, November 3, 2024

Episode #111: Breaking Barriers: The Power of Representation in Film

Get a sneak peek into the making of "Made With Love," an upcoming film that aims to break down barriers and inspire change. Join us as we hear from the passionate filmmakers behind the project, who are dedicated to creating positive representation
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Show Notes:

Behind the scenes: Hear the incredible journey of two filmmakers who are making a difference in the world.

Get a sneak peek into the making of “Made With Love,” an upcoming film that aims to break down barriers and inspire change. Join us as we hear from the passionate filmmakers behind the project, who are dedicated to creating positive representation in film for individuals with Down syndrome. Learn about their vision for the film, the challenges they’ve faced, and how you can support their crowdfunding campaign to bring this important story to life.

Don’t miss this interview with the creators of ‘Made With Love’ and discover how you can help bring this film to the screen.

👉Connect with David and Jackson:

Made With Love the Movie Proof of Concept:

Mini Doc Series “Stories Made With Love”:

Watch Matthew Schwab’s Interview: https://youtu.be/H4827T4Lsls

🌟Check out the NEW Water Prairie Prayer Journal for Parents! https://amzn.to/3TDBIO5

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Music Used:

“LazyDay” by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Artist: http://audionautix.com/


 

David & Jackson Hughens are an unstoppable father and son filmmaking duo. David is an award-winning feature film writer/director, who overcame numerous challenges to make his debut film at 23 and has extensive experience in sales and marketing. Jackson has proven himself as a talented and creative force as a video editor and YouTube personality with a viral video that has amassed over 15 million views.


Episode #111: Breaking Barriers: The Power of Representation in Film

Behind the scenes: Hear the incredible journey of two filmmakers who are making a difference in the world.

(Recorded June 27, 2024)

Full Transcript of Interview:

David: The film industry needs to see more stories like Made with Love because individuals with Down syndrome or any special need, they need to be represented.

Tonya: What if a movie could change the way we see the world? That’s the goal of Made with Love the Movie, a groundbreaking film that’s going to break down barriers and inspire hearts.

Made with Love is a movie in the making and today I’m talking with the writer and director David Hughens and his son Jackson about the journey they’re following to create a movie that has the potential to change the way people view individuals with Down syndrome. If you want to help bring this incredible journey to the big screen, be sure to listen to the end and find out how you can partner with David and Jackson.

Welcome to the Water Prairie Chronicles, a podcast for special needs parents. I’m your host, Tonya Wollum, and I’m glad you’re here. David and Jackson, welcome to Water Prairie.

David: Well, thank you for having us. We’re excited to be here.

Jackson: Yes.

Tonya: Listeners, you heard Matthew Schwab last week. We were talking about his speaking engagements and how he’s advocating for the rights of Down syndrome individuals to be able to work in jobs in their community.

And if you missed that, go back and make sure that you You, you listen to that. I’ll, I’ll link it here for you. It’s in the show notes, but we mentioned a little piece of anticipation that he and his fiance have about their, their wedding and their reception. And when you hear that part, David and Jackson are who started that part of the conversation.

So, um, so it’s kind of fun that we were able to connect together so close to when, when we, we were able to present Matthew’s platform as well. So Chris, that has nothing to do with what we’re talking about today. I just, just thought I would give you a little, little link there between the two. But we are going to be talking about Down syndrome and how that affects us, how we have friendships, how we have, um, community connections.

And this is what I thought was so exciting about meeting David and Jackson together and hearing what they’re doing. So listeners, now that you’re totally confused, I thought I’d have them. Maybe let’s, let’s just start out by what is your connection with the Down syndrome community? How did you get started there?

David: Well, absolutely. Um, so I have a really good friend who adopted a young man who has Down syndrome and I met Jay good, or we met Jay a good eight years ago. And just developed a friendship through those eight years. And at the time Jackson and I were living in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Jackson: I was still in high school. As Jay says, I was a teeny tiny.

David: You were tiny baby. And so Jackson moved to Atlanta. And, and got into the film business and then a year or so later I moved to Atlanta to get into the film business. Um, and when we got here, of course, we got to spend more time with Jay because he lives in Atlanta. When he found out that we were here to make movies, he said, well, I’ve always wanted to be a movie star.

You should make a movie about me. And you know, we’re like, Oh, okay, Jay, that’d be great. That’d be great. You know, what’s that supposed to be about? And he said, just go home, think about me and write. And so I did. And two weeks later, I had a wonderful movie called Made With Love. And, uh, so, that’s our connection.

And, and kind of once, you know, I started looking into writing the movie, of course I wanted Jay to be presented in the best light possible and the Down Syndrome community. So, as a responsible author, I thought I need to, I need to learn as much as I can. So I started researching into the Down syndrome community, started going to conventions,

Jackson: You got connected on to social media, like on Instagram and Facebook and met everybody there.

Um, your fiance, Amy, she got us connected in. She really helped us get connected into the community and she like became a super fan of all these accounts and kind of like, you’ve got to, you’ve got to hear about this person. Look at what this person is doing.

David: Yeah. So, so that, uh, that’s how we got into the community and just, uh, have fallen in love with the down syndrome community.

Uh, and now, I mean, it’s just kind of changed the trajectory of our lives. And we’ve been working for over two years now on this, trying to raise the money for this film.

Jackson: Right. And we met Matthew Uh, Matthew Schwab at, uh, NDSC last year. That was, I was like basically a year ago, we met him down in Florida.

And, uh, we, when we realized what you’re also from North Carolina, that’s where I grew up. And we were like, we’ve got to connect. And, uh, that eventually led to us doing the interview with him and Lucia recently here. And that’s what you were talking about earlier, our connection there and, uh, the whole shout out to Big Time Rush, which.

That clip, we posted that on our social media, ended up being, that’s like our most viral clip on our account. Uh.

David: So millions and millions of views and just, yeah, so cool.

Jackson: So it’s been such a fun and unexpected journey from meeting Jay until now. And, uh, we’re just so grateful to be a part of it.

Tonya: So you met Jay in North Carolina or in Atlanta?

David: In Atlanta. He lives in Atlanta. So, uh, we would make trips down here for various reasons. Jackson got an internship at Turner Broadcast, which was Turner Broadcast at the time, now Warner Media. And so we would come down and we were looking for a place for him to live during the summer, during that internship.

And we would stop at my friend’s house and hang out with Jay and color. That was what he loved to do. And, and we loved hanging around him. So we just made fast friends with Jay.

Jackson: And we recently did a whole video that’s in depth on how Jay came to be a part of, uh, our friend’s family. So, yeah, Dawn is your friend that you grew up with. During she was like your childhood friend.

David: Yeah, I’ve known doll since middle school.

Jackson: And then Jay came into the picture only about 10 years ago.

David: Yeah.

Jackson: Uh, and that was cause Dawn’s daughter, Lucy met him at high school and just, they had, that’s like a whole movie right there. And we recently told that story of how they adopted Jay when he was 18.

Um, and you can see that video on our YouTube channel and on our social media. And that has also been gaining a lot of traction. So that’s been really cool.

David: Yeah. And that we we’re doing a little mini documentary minary, uh, video series now called Stories Made With Love. So the movie’s called Made With Love, and we’re doing these little mini documentaries called Stories Made with Love.

And we did the one on Matthew and Lucia. Um, and that’s, you know, that was where the whole Big Time Rush thing came out.

Tonya: We’ll put the links to your YouTube channel in the show notes, because I think it’d be important for our listeners to, to check out what you’re doing there. I’ve seen what you’re referring to.

You’re doing a great job with these, this little mini series, because it’s very interesting. It hooks you right in, but listeners, if you go and watch these, you’re really just going to see why, why love fits this. Because it just, their personalities just come out and you’re doing a great job with not only the questioning side of what you’re doing, but just kind of pulling these stories out.

So they’re, they’re very interesting. They’re easy to listen to, but, um, but especially our parents who have children with Down syndrome and our professionals that are working there. I think they’ll see a lot through what you’re portraying in the miniseries but moving into the movie. Um. I love the title Made With Love.

So you’ve got your Made With Love series, the docu series, whatever you’re going to call this and the movie itself. Um, the name is beautiful. It doesn’t say Down syndrome. It’s going to be obvious as you’re presenting and that, and that has you’re looking more. But, um, how is, how is the movie itself going to portray individuals with Down syndrome and that message that you’re trying to get across?

David: Yeah, well, absolutely. I mean, Jackson came up with the title, uh, Made With Love. We had a different title and, uh, just wanted to come up with something that fit better and there is a cooking theme in it. Uh, it’s, it’s about the transformative relationship between Jay and this old retiring, jaded Home Ec school teacher who wants to open a little cafe and just kind of do his recipes and live out his life.

Uh, so, you know, there’s the double entendre of, of, uh, When you make a meal, it’s made with love, right? If you do it, you know, put your heart into it. Uh, but then as we looked at, you know, our, especially our friend Jay, um, he’s just made with love. Uh, and so are all individuals with Down syndrome. Uh, you know, some people say that extra chromosome is the chromosome of love.

Some people say it’s the dance chromosome. I don’t know. You know, it could be.

Jackson: Yeah. It’s like they’re in their genetic recipe. They have a little extra love in there.

David: Yeah.

Jackson: Um, so yeah, we thought the name was, was fitting with that. Um, but anyway, talking about individuals with Down syndrome, that’s that kind of, the name does tie into it.

Cause that is the hope. That, um, what viewers would take away from is, well, people with, uh, Down syndrome and just everyone that we come across in our lives are made with love and to see everyone as valuable. Um, and specifically, we feel really strongly about showing people like Jay, uh, to show their value because just the way that people are raised, there’s a lack of education around this, and you know, it’s not necessarily that people are raised with evil intentions or anything, but just a lot of people are uneducated to know that people with Down syndrome are as valuable as they are, and that their lives are a good thing.

David: Yeah, I mean you know they’re marginalized and that’s just the truth of the matter. So our hope is that we will raise awareness and show their love and joy that they have, uh, will show their and and how they can be productive members of our society Uh, you know, and it’s our hope that we can turn the termination rate around because we can’t imagine our life without Jay. So you know, we want to educate people to make the best decision possible.

Tonya: One area that, um, our parents who have children with Down syndrome will know what I’m saying here. Sometimes our parents face challenges and how their children are perceived. And you mentioned that a little bit, how they’re already being marginalized. As with any disability, there’s a spectrum of abilities.

Um, you know, and we, we are. Talking about the love side of things, but we’re also talking about a population of people who have various emotions. So listeners, we’re not saying that a hundred percent of the time, every minute of the day, they’re always going to just be generated in love and nothing else.

These are people just like you and I are, everyone has emotions. We all have good days and bad days, good moments and bad moments. And, um, And you can be looked at in a negative way and it can really hurt no matter who you are. So does Made With Love, is it going to address any negative perceptions about Down syndrome?

David: Yeah. I mean, it will definitely do that. The, in this story, the older gentleman, Um, he has a lot to learn and he has, you know, preconceptions and, and he has to come around. Um, and so there’s a lot of growth in his character, his character arc. Um, and so we’ll present that through his lens. Um, there are other characters in the story as well that have to overcome their, you know, misbelief or whatever it might be.

So, uh, yeah, like I said, in the, in the story, you know, it’s one story. Uh, it’s, it’s based off of inspired by my friend, Jay. Uh, it is fiction, but I had to pick a way, you know, I had to go, all right, I’m gonna write the story. It can’t be all things for all people, you know? Uh, so it is a story based on it and, you know, really shows Jay’s personality.

It, it shines through, uh, in the movie. And. Like I said, it’s just to go, this person has worth and value and. Um, you know, we need to, we need to represent that and we need to include him and we need to embrace that. So,

Jackson: and through the highs and lows he has worth and value, and you show that and his character in the story is that he and the old man, their relationship. There are scenes where there’s, there’s tension, there’s conflict between them.

Um, and Jay is not just a super happy, 100 percent smiling, all the time guy in the movie because that’s not how he is in, in real life. We, I, I argue with him, he’ll FaceTime me and we’ll, we’ll play, we’ll like tickle each other through FaceTime over the phone and laugh and laugh and laugh.

And then sometimes. You know, we’ll argue on FaceTime about things and we’ll work through things about the movie. So just like any other friendship that I have, um, so you reflect that in the story and that does play a factor into the character arc of the old man of going, you know, oh man, like, uh, Jay’s pushing me like he’s, he’s pushing my limits right now, but I still love him so much.

And, uh, you know, the question we’re asking this audience is, is the old man going to change? Is he going to fight for Jay when it comes down to it? Is he willing to put his dreams on the line for Jay? Right. Um, and that’s a part that I really related to when I first read the screenplay was this old man’s character arc.

It’s not. Such a dramatic character arc of he was once a man who actively made fun of people with disabilities and hated people with disabilities. No, he, you know, he was a school teacher. He cared about people and he cares about children and, um, he loves to see people grow and learn. So from the get go, he’s very peaceful towards Jay, but when Jay comes into his life and potentially gets in the way of his.

plans for his cafe. Um, then it tests him because this is more of a story of, uh, this argument that we, we kind of see with, with doctors when they give the diagnosis to someone, they say, oh, your child has Down syndrome. There’s this idea that is this child going to be a burden or is that actually not true?

And this, this can be a blessing to us. And so that’s kind of what the story really deals with. It’s like, hmm, is, is Jay going to get in the way of my time and my plans? He, he, he really wants, he cares about Jay from the beginning, but is he willing to prioritize Jay over his sort of earthly plans? So I’m really excited for it.

Tonya: Just the way that you answered that question. Um, Yeah. It makes it sound very exciting to, and listeners, you may not have a child with Down syndrome. You may not know anyone, but you have a child with a disability and you’re going to be able to connect with some of this, I think, just in how your child may be perceived by others.

So I can see this reaching a broader audience along with your purpose of presenting Down syndrome in a positive light and seeing the value that we have there. Um, my audience, you know, we’re across the board. I have a visually impaired child. I have a child with invisible disabilities. Um, But I’ve had those same feelings that you’re describing here and they’ve been received with the in that same way and sometimes in a negative way until others kind of open and see them for who they are and not for what they thought they were going to be.

So, um, so I could see that, that people like myself even connecting on this storyline. In other ways. So I see it reaching a broader audience, maybe than what you’re even intending. I saw on your YouTube channel that you have a proof of concept video out. Is that going to stay out for a while? Can, can we link that for, for our listeners to kind of get an idea of what you were describing?

David: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, that’s, uh, it’s, it’s great that we did, we made that to show. Just the quality that we’re going for, um, you know, the level of, of acting, you know, so people could see Jay on, on the big screen. And, uh, we’ve had a great, you know, great feedback on that. So yeah, it’ll be there on our website. Please check it out.

Tonya: What is the timeframe of what you’re looking at? When do you think this is, the project will be completed?

David: Film industry is kind of a crazy place and being independent filmmakers and not tied to a major studio. Uh, what we have to do is we have to raise the funds for the budget. We’re trying to raise two to 3 million dollars. And, uh, you know, it’s kind of the economy’s been a little bumpy here the past couple of years. The film industry has been a little bumpy with strikes going on, changes in streaming and all of that. So, uh, it’s, it’s a matter of raising that money and that’s kind of one reason we made the proof of concept.

It’s one reason we’re doing this mini documentary series is just to get out and make connections and network. Hopefully to find that person who has a heart and the pocket book that can help us get this film done You know, we’re doing crowdfunding right now. We started it last year and it’s open so you can donate and help us Um, but it’s going to take a lot of folks I mean, we’ve already had over 4 000 people 4 000 people give their hard earned money to this project So We know that there is an audience out there that understands what we’re doing.

Um, but it’s a big hurdle to get over that 3 million. So we, you know, we don’t know. I mean, it could take several more years.

Jackson: Cause we’ve had so many people who give the best amount that they can. And, uh, young people, old people, just everybody has given, you know, small amounts, big amounts. It’s just, it’s crazy how much support we’ve had.

David: I mean, $5 to $10,000.

Jackson: Right. And, uh, and like families have come together to donate a big chunk of money. So it’s, it’s been amazing, um, to get to that two to 3 million in a timely manner. Um, I think we’re going to need to make a connection with a person who has a big chunk of that two to 3 million. Um, and has the capacity and the means to donate to this as their cause.

Cause there are a lot of people who have that kind of money, but they already have really meaningful causes that they’re, that they are invested in.

David: But getting on, on a podcast like this is how we network. So if there are any of your listeners that go, Oh, you know what? I know somebody or I know somebody that knows somebody that that’s where this is going to happen if we’re gonna reach the right person.

Jackson: So in the meantime, that’s why we thought, Hey, let’s go, let’s travel the country. Let’s tell these stories with the little camera that we have, um, and make these little no budget documentaries. Um, so it’s like using what we have to try to level up. To, you know, maybe on our, in our travels, we will meet somebody who can help us get to that two to 3 million, or maybe we will post one of these mini documentaries and it’ll blow up and big time rush.

We’ll see, you know, the uncle. And I will say, Hey, we want to help make this happen. So we’re just, we’re along for the ride and we’re, we’re open to what happens, but we really, some people have asked us like, Hey, why not just make the movie with, for a low, low budget and with what you have now. Um, and that is a possibility, but right now we feel called to make, like you just said, this is something that could reach wide audiences.

And unless you’re making a very niche horror movie, it’s kind of hard to make a low budget film get out to that many, that many people.

David: Because if it looks low budget or you don’t have good actors or good locations, then people are going to stumble over that and not want to go see it because they don’t think that it’s a quality film.

So that’s why we’re shooting for that certain range.

Jackson: Because we want it to get.

David: Yeah, we want to spread it far and wide and not, not that we want to be, you know, we want to reap the rewards of it, but that we want it to spread, you know, and raise awareness as far and wide as possible because

Jackson: Jay told us. His Nana, his grandma told him when he was a kid that his purpose is to shine his light. And he took that to mean that he needs to be a movie star. And he has said, I want my face to be on as many big screens as possible. So that is really the motivation. I, you know, the film business is like the worst business to get into for like financial stability or thinking that you’re going to get.

Rich or anything like if we really, if that’s why we were, what we were in this for, we would be out of our minds. We should definitely go do something else. Um, so really the, the motivation every day is how can we get that dream that started back when Jay’s Nana told him that to shine his light. That’s the motivation for us every day.

It’s like Jay’s purpose is to be on the big screens. So how can we make that happen?

Tonya: Jay is one that I’m hoping, um, to eventually have on the podcast. We’ll see, see if I can connect with him or not, but I think, I think my listeners will enjoy meeting him as well. And, and, and you’re right. I mean, this is, this industry is almost like, um, opening a restaurant.

You might as well just do both together, trying to, to, to, to survive for very long. And I applaud you for holding out. To make this the quality that you want, because you’re right. As soon as you release it as a low budget film, and if it comes across that way, that’s what everyone’s going to talk about is, is the quality.

And they’re going to miss the picture of what you’re telling. So waiting a little bit longer probably is worth that, but listeners check this out. And it’s, we’re going to have this link. It’ll, it’ll be the top of it. If you’re watching the YouTube channel, it’ll be before the fold even. So you can get, get the link to where their funding is.

And, um, and I’d encourage you to consider if it’s 5 a month, whatever you can do, see if, see if you can help us get this out there. I want, I want to see this on, on, Many big screens, not just a little bit so that, so we can get this message out. And I just, I just see so much value coming from this. So I’m, I’m looking forward to seeing it myself, but I, I think it’s going to, I’m going to have, have a huge impact whenever it does come out.

So you’ve talked about the mini series already. You’ve talked about the movie. What else is going on right now? Do you have some other projects that you’re working through? I mean, you probably both have like a hundred if you, if you, if your brain is working like mine is, but, but what, what else are you working on right now?

David: Yeah. So, I mean, we, we are having to try to make a living. So, we do, uh, pick up, uh, freelance work, uh, where we can. Uh, I moved down here four years ago and have been living off of savings, uh, which is just about toward the end there. Uh, so, you know, we’re both picking up work, trying to keep the ball rolling.

So that is something that is consuming, but we do put all of our energy into made with love and now this, you know, the, the mini documentary series stories made with love. I mean, we just got back from Tampa, Florida yesterday. We went down there, uh, yeah. Uh, to interview, uh, a family with a young man, um, who was about five years old, who has down syndrome.

So beautiful, such a neat story. Such a cute kid. Uh, and we kind of followed them around and, you know, day in the life of to see how they are working. So that was that was good for us to get somebody younger.

Jackson: And that’s our 1st episode with somebody that that is that young.

David: Yeah, and and then we have somebody else on deck that has a child that’s even younger than that.

So we want to kind of just represent the whole. You know, age spectrum and ability spectrum and, and kind of get that out there. So that’s what we’re really working hard on right now.

Tonya: Jackson outside of this, what else are you doing? Or are both of you working together?

David: Yes. Yeah. I mean, we work together and then, you know, separately sometimes on freelance, I might have a commercial shoot or something that I go on.

Uh, Jackson does a lot of editing. You can talk about it.

Jackson: Yeah. I mean, I’ve been editing for a YouTuber. He makes. Fun, inspirational, and just silly adventure videos. Um, and his name is Preston goes, if you just want a fun laugh, I’ve been working more and more with him as a editor and sort of storyteller, and I’ll also help him shoot sometimes.

And I always make sure to wear my Made With Love merch anytime I’m on camera and it’s in his videos. So it’s not like a free billboard free advertising. Um, and yeah, that’s been, it’s been fun and I’ve kind of been getting to grow my storytelling abilities. Working with him on those jobs because his videos are kind of like mini documentaries as well. So, it’s kind of a way to grow my storytelling abilities. So, then when we get to work, like we just did this shoot, uh, down in Tampa, I can be even sharper with my craft.

So this is, this is my passion. I mean, my dad inspired me. I want to be, uh, in his footsteps and write and direct and edit movies one day. So yeah, I’m, I am all in on this. And I, I mean, we’ve been spending a lot of time on Made With Love for the past two years, not working any jobs for a while. We kind of just been cruising off of savings.

And recently I had a car problem. I was like, okay, I probably shouldn’t just like let my bank account go down to zero. So I have been picking up more jobs like this. Um, yeah, it’s just been, it’s been awesome. And you know, I also, my, my mom, she’s had a big career in PR, so she’s always like helping me out.

And. Uh, cause I really head up a lot of our marketing. We’ve, we’ve done a ton of marketing for Made With Love already. Uh, just us here in our house, trying to figure out what can, what can we do next? What can we post on our social media? Um, so I feel like I’ve been really fortunate to have two parents that are very creative and just raised me in this way.

That’s like perfect for this mission of raise the money, make the movie. So that’s every day. And hey, Jay too. I got to give him a ton of credit because not only did he inspire this whole thing, he’s changed our lives, but we have calls. Basically, it’s like almost every day he’s facetiming us and he’s telling us, Hey, here’s a new idea of how to promote the movie and get the money.

David: Um, yeah, he calls and it’s like, where, where are we on the movie? Where are you? No, he likes a fire renders and it’s like, Oh, we should have a blog. We should do a record deal. Let’s start a band. Let’s start a band. Let’s, let’s call the gunner. I mean, it’s just crazy. So, you know, we, that’s why we work so hard because we know Jay wants this bad.

Tonya: I agree. I think, I think it needs to happen. We’ve got to get out there. This season, I’ve been having each of my guests share some advice to my listeners through finishing some statements that I give them and haven’t figured out the best way to introduce this. I do a little bit different every time, but that’s kind of in a nutshell what we’re doing here.

So I have, um, I think I have three for, for the two of you. And I’ll let you decide who. Who answers. If you both want to answer, that’s fine too. Um, so I’m going to say the statement, I’m going to have you repeat it after me, and then you’ll finish it. So the first one, the greatest takeaway I want parents to have from Made With Love is that,

David: the greatest takeaway I want parents to have from Made With Love is the worth and value of those individuals with Down syndrome, um, and the love and joy that they can bring to the world.

Right. And that they should be included and accepted, um, in all walks of our society.

Tonya: So number two, when it comes to appreciating individuals with Down syndrome, we should all remember.

Jackson: When it comes to appreciating individuals with Down syndrome, we should all remember that we are more alike than we are different.

And, uh, that’s inspired by, uh, Matthew Schwab, um, and just the things, his talking points and his speech. Um, and that’s something that I’ve, I’ve really found, like, even just in, in Tampa this, this week, hanging out with Brody and, uh, him, us riding to this restaurant together and him back in the car seat and us just, uh, making faces at each other and, uh, like doing like little Spider Man gestures and like having fun and laughing with each other.

And it’s like, man, at the end of the day. Like it doesn’t matter if we’re talking and understanding each other, we all have such, uh, worth and value to bring to this life. And we all just want to interact with each other and experience love between each other. And we all just want to feel loved and seen.

And, uh, we just want to feel like we have friends and have friendships. So it’s like everybody that we have met, um, On this journey of doing these little mini documentaries, whether it’s the subject of the documentary, like Brody or Brody’s parents, or whether it has been people that have welcomed us to where we’re staying, uh, it’s like.

Wow. We, we all are the same and whether our capabilities of speech are different or anything, our communication are different, really, it’s all leveled out by the fact that we are, we are meant to experience love.

Tonya: And the last one, the film industry needs to see more stories like made with love because.

David: The film industry needs to see more stories like made with love because individuals with Down syndrome or any special need, they need to be represented. Because they are out there in our society and, you know, even though we’ve made a lot of strides and, and currently they’re still marginalized and. They need to be in every facet.

I mean, Jay wants to be the star, but I want to make sure that we include people from this community, uh, in all aspects of our production. I would love them behind the camera. I met a young man who wanted to be a director. And told his parents, I said, when we get rolling, I want, I’d love for him to be my personal assistant and be right there with me.

So, uh, I think, you know, also in the film industry, we need more positive, encouraging, uplifting films like this, uh, just to spread love to a world that desperately needs it. And I just, you know, there’s a lot, a lot of media that is, you know, Not that way. So.

Jackson: And we, we want to show people with Down syndrome as role models on screen.

Yes, realistically, and all the best characters, like one of my favorites, Woody from toy story or Marlon from finding Nemo, they have flaws and that’s good to show that we don’t have to be perfect. To be worthy and valuable. Um, but still a role model, still somebody that young Brody can look up at the screen and go, Oh, okay.

So this is what I can be like in this world. This is the impact that I can have. We want to hold people that standard and not stoop down to a lower standard just for a laugh or something, because yes, Jay can, can say something and get a laugh, but he can also use his words to encourage, build people up and inspire.

And we’ve seen him do that on social media. We’ve seen comments of people say. I was. I was feeling down and depressed today, and I heard Jay say this inspiring thing in this video, and it’s just the thing I needed. So, we want to lift people up.

Tonya: You made a point at the beginning of the statement that, how important representation is, and that I hear time after time.

On the, on this podcast this season, I’ve interviewed people who have a child who has such a rare condition that there might be five other people in the world that have ever had it that’s ever been identified. That child has a hard time connecting with someone else, and that parent has a hard time connecting with someone else who understands who they are.

And it’s so important that we have this representation. We may not be able to get that rare disease portrayed easily on the screen, but we can represent with true representation, not an actor pretending to have that condition as much as possible. And I love the idea of you saying, you know, bring him on doing some of the different tasks around beyond just what the screen is showing.

What’s behind it would be a great, great collection there. Um, so parents, you know, there’s a lot for you to connect with here. I, um, I hope you’ve enjoyed this. I hope that you find what they’re doing on social media, on YouTube, and, um, And we’re, we’re, we’re going to be cheering you on as we’re going here.

So last option here, shout out how they can find you directly on social media. Where, where are your platforms and what are the, the, the connections and listeners we’ll put these in the show notes, but just, just hear it here as well.

David: We have a website called madewithlovethemovie.Com Made With Love the Movie and you can find us on Facebook at the same Made With Love the Movie. You can find us on Instagram Made With Love the Movie.

Jackson: If you scroll down to the bottom of our website Um, you’ll see All of our social media channels, the little icons link down there.

Um, and then our YouTube channel where we’ve been sharing these mini documentaries is just Made With Love. Just like on my hat here, just Made With Love.

Tonya: And thank you both for being here today. I I’ve learned more about what I, even having looked at your channels and all, I learned more about what’s, what’s happening here.

Um, again, I, I love everything that I’m hearing about this and, um, we’ll be supporting you, but also I’m hoping that some of our listeners will join on as well. So thank, thank you both for taking the time to just explain all this to us.

David: Thank you for having us on.

Jackson: Yes.

David: Thank you for what you’re doing.

Jackson: Thank you so much.

Tonya: Thanks for joining me today. If you want to help David and Jackson be able to finish the movie Made with Love, you can find the links in the show notes. In the next episode, I’ll be talking with Susie Forbes about the neurobiology of mischief and regulation. If you know any mischievous little ones, you won’t want to miss that one.

I’ll see you then.

Tonya Wollum

Tonya

Tonya Wollum is a disability advocate and host of the Water Prairie Chronicles podcast which connects special needs parents with resources to help them navigate parenting a child with a disability. She is the mother of 2 college-age children who have each grown up with a disability. That experience, along with a background in education, led her to create the Water Prairie Chronicles to help share what she has learned with parents of younger children to help them know how to advocate for their children.

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