POWERFUL APF FRANCE CAMPAIGN EXPOSES EXCRUCIATING EXCLUSION FELT BY DISABLED PERSONS

Ad features paraplegic dancer Hamid Allouache

The painful exclusion from everyday activities experienced by people with disabilities is exposed in an emotionally charged campaign The Fall for the French disability association APF France.

Created by award-winning agency Babel and directed by young Franco-British talent James Maciver, the TV and digital campaign conveys a compelling core message: ‘The hardest part is not our disability but the exclusion imposed on us.’

The Fall shows the anguish experienced by a wheelchair user, including inaccessible shelves in supermarkets, job interview rejection and limited health care support. Each set-back triggers a flash-back to the moment of his tragic accident when he fell backwards down a long flight of stone steps.

The role is played by dancer Hamid Allouache, a former stage manager for Le Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris who has been paraplegic since 2016 when he suffered a spinal injury. He now dances for the likes of choreographers Akram Khan and Sadeck (Waff) Berrabah for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Launched for International Human Rights Day, The Fall shows that preconceived ideas, obstacles and exclusions from everyday life in society are a serious issue for people with disabilities, preventing them from having the same rights and opportunities as others.

The APF France campaign implores us all to find collective solutions for a more open and just society. It invites the general public to join the association in working towards a society that leaves no one behind and calls for donations to support actions to reach this goal.

“Exclusion and everyday obstacles are all moments during which people with disabilities are forced to face their disability. It feels like a perpetual return to square one, which prevents them moving forward in life. This is what we wanted to express and fight, with this symbolic idea of The Fall which is repeated over and over,” explains Jean-Laurent Py, Creative Director, Babel.