The Best Work You May Never See: CoorDown, SMALL, Director Rich Lee "Assume I Can" For People With Down Syndrome

March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day, and Italy’s CoorDown--the National Coordination of Associations of People with Down Syndrome--has launched its annual campaign in collaboration with New York agency SMALL.

“Assume I Can” is a call for an end to prejudice and to support the potential of every person with Down Syndrome. Stereotypes, biases and low expectations strongly affect every aspect of the lives of people with intellectual disabilities: they represent an often-impassable boundary which limits their ambitions; their opportunities at school, in the workplace, in sports, in their communities, friendships and romantic relationships.

The campaign was inspired in part by Marta Sodano, a 29-year-old Italian woman with Down Syndrome. Sodano addressed a World Down Syndrome Day Conference at the United Nations, sharing, “I discovered that in psychology there is a concept called ‘self-fulfilling prophecy,’ whereby a teacher who thinks that a student cannot understand would just act accordingly and therefore they would not teach the student. And there you go: the prophecy self-fulfills. But in my opinion, there are no difficult or easy concepts, there is always a simple way to explain things. If I think of all the things that were not explained and taught to me, well I really get angry.” 

In this film, Sodano challenges the low expectations others have of her and proposes a reversal of perspective: initially those around believe that she cannot drink a cocktail, be a boxer, study Shakespeare, live alone, achieve important goals. Then halfway through the film there’s a twist: the protagonist forcefully invites the viewer, and society at large, to think outside the box and use the self-fulfilling prophecy positively: if you believe in me, if you trust in me, you can have a positive impact, and then, maybe, I will achieve goals, even unexpected ones.

The public service piece was produced by Indiana Production and directed by Rich Lee, with Christopher Probst as director of photography. Music was composed and produced by Stabbiolo Music.

In a joint statement, Luca Lorenzini and Luca Pannese, executive creative directors, SMALL New York, shared, “This year, we wanted to make a very different film than in previous years. Taking inspiration from a speech Marta Sodano gave to the United Nations a few years ago, we set out to give a strong message against prejudice. Thanks to Madison’s great acting skills and versatility and the talent of director Rich Lee, we made a film full of energy that we hope will help break down the stereotypes that still restrict the dreams and plans of people with Down syndrome.”