Or is it really an accessibility issue? Montreal filmmaker and wheelchair-user Sean Marckos (he has Muscular Dystrophy), director of De l’autre cote (a suspense film about a school janitor who discovers dark secrets in a school), has been rejected twice by the Cannes Film Festival, in 2008 and 2009, from setting foot/wheel on the prestigious red carpet.
Not surprisingly, Marckos is pissed, and he believes they’re using the inaccessibility of the 50 steps up to the Palais (the location of the main event), as a lamw excuse to keep the cripples far far away (or more specifically, relegating them to the rear entrance). “They didn't want me next to the beautiful people like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie," accuses Marckos.
Canne organizers meanwhile say they’ve looked into building a ramp up the 50 steps, but say it’s too dangerous. Well of course a ramp up 50 steps is too dangerous. To me this seems like a pathetic excuse. It’s clear they haven’t tried too incredibly hard to make the red carpet experience accessible to all. Here’s an idea: Why don’t they hire one of those fancy French architects they got over them and have them design a fabulous ramp that’s alongside the stairs? Or maybe install a cool lift?? Or maybe hire some strongmen to carry Marckos up the steps? This isn’t rocket science people. There are plenty of ways to get around the inaccessibility and make both parties happy.
The story gets even juicier. Marckos filmed the Cannes organizers rejecting him and is now using the footage in his upcoming film, Just Imagine, a movie that "will break down people's judgmental opinions about others." Marckos held a press conference last week announcing his new film (and boy did it piss off the Cannes people. More here). He also announced his Reflexions Campaig nat the same time; a campaign he hopes will raise awareness about “image discrimination” (a term he coined, and one I quite like). The campaign runs from April 26th - May 2nd, with Danny Glover and Vern Troyer (Mini-me from Austin Powers) getting involved too.
"Everyone, in one way or another, has been discriminated against based on the image they project," says Marckos. "Everyone perceives people based on what they see" and not based on the person's actions or contributions to society."
For more deets on his crusade, visit Reflexions Campaign.
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