CoorDown, Italy’s national organization for people with Down syndrome, has released a new short film in time for World Down Syndrome Day on March 21. The film, by Saatchi & Saatchi, is a PSA featuring pro-choice actress Oliva Wilde.
“How Do You See Me?” focuses on the life of 19-year-old AnnaRose Rubright, a New Jersey college student who has Down syndrome. She wants people to know that her life is beautiful, and Down syndrome doesn’t hold her back. She doesn’t want to be seen solely as a person with Down syndrome, but as a person with hopes, dreams, and goals.
“I see myself following my dreams even if they are impossible, especially because they’re impossible,” Rubright says in a voiceover. “I see myself as an ordinary person with an important, meaningful, beautiful life. This is how I see myself. How do you see me?”
Wilde plays Rubright in the film, which aims to show the world how quickly we judge and classify other people based on the way they look or the different abilities or diagnoses they have. Rubright sees herself in one light, a different light than much of society does. How do you see her?
