PATRICE: THE MOVIE wins the first all inclusive Award 2025

USA 2024, Director: Ted Passon, Co-Producer: Kyla Harris, 102 min.

 

The first all-inclusive award goes to PATRICE: THE MOVIE by US director Ted Passon and producer and writer Kyla Harris. The film will celebrate its German premiere at DOK.fest München 2025. Sincere congratulations!


About the film: Patrice and Gary want to get married. But as a married couple with disabilities, there’s a risk that their state benefits would be taken away from them. Supported by loyal friends, they confront this unfair law and other challenges. A life-affirming film about love, equality and breaking down barriers in our society. Kathi Seemann


About the award winners: Director Ted Passon developed and directed the critically acclaimed and award-winning docu-series PHILLY D.A. (2021). Ted is a 2018 Sundance Catalyst Fellow, 2016 Sundance Lab Creative Summit Fellow and co-founder of All Ages Productions.

Producer and screenwriter Kyla Harris is a British performer, writer and producer with a disability who brings an intersectional perspective to her scripts and documentaries. She is Chair of We Crip Film for the BFI, a BAFTA member and an advisory member of Filmmakers with Disabilities (FWD-DOC).

Jury statement

"As a jury, it was very important to us to honour a film that, by consensus, convinces us the most cinematically while at the same time shows behind the scenes that it was largely created by experts in the world depicted, both in front of and behind the camera. In today's world, where political messages play an important role, it is particularly important to honour a film that is both empowering and socially critical. ‘Inclusion is a delicate plant’. PATRICE: THE MOVIE treats this topic with the sensitivity of a delicate pencil that needs no further validation. As world events show - and we also look at examples from the USA - the film brings together exactly what we want to emphasise: the indispensable upholding of human rights.

The film, a love story of two people who want to get married and pull out all the stops to achieve this, stands out due to its focus on the social model of disability. It shows that it is not the body that is the problem. It is the social structures that pose challenges for people with disabilities (and that are also posed by people with disabilities themselves). In addition to the gripping plot and the dramaturgically well-constructed, multi-layered scenes, it is the commitment behind the scenes that makes this film stand out. Filmmakers with and without disabilities worked together professionally on the film production. As a matter of course, there was also a person in charge of accessibility and psychological support for the protagonists on set. The film proves that inclusion is possible in professional filmmaking and that the professionalism of filmmakers with disabilities is by no means in question. It is precisely the lack of funding structures in Germany for such projects that makes this film a showcase project and an urgent reminder to us all to improve the conditions for filmmakers with disabilities."

 

The film at the festival

The winning film PATRICE: THE MOVIE will be screened at the 40th DOK.fest München in May 2025.

The all inclusive Award will be presented at a festive award ceremony on Saturday, 10 May 2025 at 8 p.m. at the Kammerspiele München. We cordially invite you to the award ceremony with film screening and subsequent reception in the Therese-Giehse-Halle.

An award for inclusive documentary film productions

The award honours documentary film productions in which filmmakers with disabilities play a leading role. It is sponsored by the Werksviertel-Mitte Stiftung and is endowed with prize money of 5,000 euros.

Isabell Zacharias, managing director of the Werksviertel-Mitte Stiftung München: "Some people are born with disabilities, some are disabled as a consequence of accidents or similar, but it is our society which is primarily disabling! I am very proud to be able to award this prize and even prouder when we no longer need it."

Here you find the conditions of participation.

Many thanks to our award donors and funders: