Sapna Ramnani
Sapna Ramnani sees herself as “only a documentary maker,” of which she says there are “perhaps 20,000 in the UK.” However, there’s something that makes her unique from all the others. She was born with Cerebral Palsy, a physical disability that affects her coordination, balance and speech. She’s a wheelchair user, which, she says, “does have an impact on filming in certain locations due to practical considerations.” However, she’s quick to add that her disability “is not relevant to my career and not important to who I am as a filmmaker.”
Her enthusiasm for production originated as a GNVQ3 Media and Communications student at Harrow College, where she gained practical experience of video production, scriptwriting, research and editing methods. She names her video production tutor, Nigel Lindley, as the person who “encouraged and inspired” her to pursue filmmaking as a career. “Film can often provide audiences with alternative views of the world and insights to new and uncharted territories.” She says. She doesn’t claim to be able to do this, but says “this notion captured my imagination.” After college, Sapna studied for a combined honours degree in Information Technology and Education at London Metropolitan University, which gave her experience with computers and several software packages.
She is “always motivated to make documentaries about ordinary people who have overcome difficulties in their lives due to social inequalities.” Her fourth documentary, sarcastically titled The Authorities Are Always Right, examines the experiences of a mother and her severely disabled child and their battle to send him to mainstream school as opposed to special needs schools that were recommended by 'experts'. She chose not to focus on the boy’s disability because she didn’t want to promote sympathy towards him. Instead, the film focuses on the inequalities of the British Education System, which “compelled a perfectly intelligent boy who happened to have a physical disability into an environment that was clearly inappropriate for him just because it was the standard formula.” This, she says, “is definitely a human rights issue that needs exposure.”
A highlight of Sapna’s career came when a parent told her that after watching The Authorities Are Always Right, she was motivated to fight for a mainstream school placement for her son. Sapna says this moment reminded her why she’s so passionate about her career.
When she applied for work in the industry after university, she was mostly rejected after revealing her disability. She says “Discrimination in the industry is definitely an obstacle for those like myself.”
She admires filmmakers who have “overcome adversities of production to make their films,” and those who “risk their lives to expose the truth.” She loves Michael Moore’s “spontaneity” and “boldness.” Her favourite documentary is Touching The Void, “a very powerful story about friends and endurance.”
She’s currently studying for a PhD at SmartLab, a department of the University of East London. Her research focuses on adapting conventional ways of interviewing on camera to make it possible for filmmakers with speech and communication impairments to take a more journalistic and spontaneous approach to documentary production. As part of the PhD she’s able to produce documentaries that focus on human rights issues, which “is an enormous bonus of being on the programme.”
In the future, Sapna says she’d like to help other filmmakers with disabilities find practical ways to make production accessible. She hopes that her future work will be able to “address the social inequalities of it’s time, capture hearts and minds and promote equality.”
Sarah Ismail is a staff writer at Society Today
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