False Inclusion Of A European Disability Film Festival: Chronic Stuttering Faces Exclusion

HILVERSUM, Netherlands - June 21, 2025 - PRLog -- A few months ago, in early February, our short film 𝘜𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 about the experience of stuttering was immediately disqualified from the European Film Festival 'Integration You and Me' (Integracja Ty i Ja) in Poland because they claimed stuttering isn't a disability.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Stuttering is globally recognized as a disability by the WHO, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and countless national and international frameworks. Yet people who stutter are still excluded, misjudged, and silenced, sometimes even in spaces that claim to celebrate disability.

After months of silence from the festival, we are humbled that, within several days, 𝟮𝟳 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 have now come together to publish the 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 below calling out this exclusion and urging the festival to correct it.

This is not just about our film. This is about recognizing that people with communication disabilities belong in the conversation, in art, in policy, and in every space where disability is represented.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲.

Read the open letter here: https://www.stamily.org/post/an-open-letter-from-stamily

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbsjDVWnR3A