An illuminating documentary exploring what happens when you change the voice of a story. Sick of being misrepresented, a group of blind creatives strive to be seen and heard in a world that keeps them hidden and mute.

synopsis

“No Fairytale” follows blind writer Zel, blind actress Grace, and sighted director Kat as they tackle the challenge of staging Tchaikovsky’s final opera that’s based on a fairytale.

As they adapt the fairytale about a blind princess into English and pursue their fresh vision, they battle production obstacles and societal biases against change.

Image: Actress Grace, left sitting on a bench on the stage, listens to stage director Kat who stands facing her

Set in Western Australia’s Perth, one of the most isolated cities in the world, “No Fairytale” unfolds over 20 months. As the World Premiere looms, a plague threatens to derail the team’s plans. The production’s unique setting delivers further challenges when border closures cuts off the state from the rest of the world for 700 days.

Deploying their resilience and ingenuity, they adapt, culminating in a transformative, inclusive performance that pushes the boundaries of the art form.

Using exclusive access with the West Australian Opera, ‘No Fairytale’ takes audiences behind the scenes, using observational filming, on the run and retrospective interviews with cast and crew, along with commentary from prominent storytellers to deliver a candid perspective on the team’s risky creative journey.

Image: Stage director Kat, left, with short fair hair, wearing a face mask, a stripey long sleeved T shirt and cargo trousers sits next to co-writer Zel, right, who has shoulder length dark brown hair, wearing a checkered blouse and black trousers. The women sit in His Majesty’s auditorium discussing WA Opera’s Iolante.

social impact aims

This documentary and its accompanying campaign aims to:
• challenge stereotypical depictions of people with disability on screen and stage, addressing cliched tropes
• bust myths surrounding the ‘practicalities’ of including people with disability in the creation of stage and screen works
• increase the participation of people with disability in the creative industries

Image: Actress Grace sits in the make-up chair. She has curlers in her hair and her eyes are close. The make-up artist is wearing a face mask, a sleeveless black blouse. She is standing next to Grace and applying eyeliner to Grace’s eyelids.

Stories help us understand the world around us. The stories we tell help us understand the world around us. Fairytales have performed this role for generations. In doing so, they have cemented stigmas – but they can also undo them. That’s why who we tell stories about and how we tell them is so crucial.

People with disability are either misrepresented or under-represented in the stories that make it our screens and stage – in spite of 1 in 6 Australians living with a disability. When we can change that, we can change attitudes and perceptions towards people with disability in society at large.

The short-term outcomes of ‘No Fairytale’ strive to see immediate attitude shifts among audiences and discussions exploring how we can make stage and screen productions accessible and inclusive.

We want the stigma surrounding the portrayal of people with disability removed.

Ultimately ‘No Fairytale’ wants to see shifts in how our cultural industries operate, with inclusion becoming a core value.

get involved

  • Donate Donate
  • Help us complete and share this film by making a tax deductable donation via the Documentary Australia website. Visit:
  • https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/no-fairytale/
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  • Leverage the ‘No Fairytale’ documentary and its objectives in your organisation. Contact us to learn more about hosting screenings and getting the word out.
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creative team

Zel Iscel

Director, Advocate

Zel Iscel, born blind, migrated to Australia from Turkey aged six. Graduating in Politics and Government in 2003, she delved into disability advocacy.

She has designed training to tackle family violence in marginalized communities for Women’s Health & Family Service in Western Australia.

She has amplified marginalized voices through her role at the National Ethnic Disability Alliance. For 6 years, Zel was a radio producer / presenter for ‘EthnicAbility’ – a program on ethnicity and disability.

While living and working in London for 2 years, Zel was introduced to audio described theatre and now consults on it.

Co-adapting “Iolante” for WA Opera, she pioneered its portrayal of blindness by bringing together a broad spectrum of the blind community to brain storm the storyline.

Zel chairs Blind Citizens WA, serves on the DADAA Board, and is a director for Rights & Inclusion Australia. Through her consultancy “Inclusive World,” she offers disability awareness training, event consultation, HR coaching on disability employment, and website accessibility testing.

With skills in public speaking and project management, Zel is primed to challenge misconceptions about inclusion in the arts.

Hannah Pocock

Producer, Executive Producer

With a career spanning over two decades in theatre, broadcast television and online media, Hannah brings creative versality to productions.  

Throughout her career, she has emphasized making abstract ideas accessible through film, from popular science series for international broadcasters including National Geographic Channel, the BBC and Discovery, to ways of combating isolation for the Australian Government.

Notable broadcast credits include Series Producer & Post Director on ABC’s “New Leash on Life”, Series Producer & Director on “Poisonous Liaisons” screened on History Channel/ Crime & Investigation channel and Producer/Director on SBS’s “Australia’s Biggest Sing-a-long”.

Drawing on her experiences living and working across 6 continents, Hannah is committed to amplifying overlooked perspectives. This saw her work with disability advocacy organization, ‘Development Disability WA’ on their co-designed online series ‘FlexAble’ and ‘The Friendship Project’. Made with and for people with intellectual disability, the latter was a finalist in the Smiley Charity Film Awards 2024.