NAZI-RULED Germany, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1945, pushed a shocking movement that thrived on the (warped and unstable) perceptions of 'the perfect image'.
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Set in 1939 Germany, the upcoming short (yet incredibly powerful) film on Netflix, 'Forgive Us Our Trespasses' was filmed in Canada and directed by Ashley Eakin - a talented film-maker with a rare bone condition - who will shine a spotlight on the devastatingly grim era.
With the hunt on for the lead role of the film, the production crew searched for a young child with a physical disability, and - after probing across the United States, Canada and Australia for the 'it kid' - they finally found him in Orange.
The movie will star 14-year-old Orange boy Knox Gibson - who had his right forearm amputated after a ride-on mower accident at the age of four - and has since adjusted to life, and the responses from people around him.
"I mean, kids can be hard to read and they will sometimes point and say "he's got one hand, oh my god!," Mr Gibson explained.
"You kind of just get used to people looking at you and I don't really care that much, but it's really about hoping people are educated around this stuff, around disabilities; like, there's definitely always going to be parents that may not have taught their kids about the different kind and types of people that there are to meet and see in the world.
"It's important - stuff like that - and I think there's a lot more good parenting and awareness now than there used to be ... I've been really lucky to meet a lot of people, and if I didn't lose my hand I don't think I'd be doing so many of the cool things I'm doing now."
Targeted at 'handicapped individuals', a Nazi program labelled 'Nazi Euthanasia Program' - under the codename 'Aktion T4' - murdered those during the gruesome era with mental health disorders, people born deaf and blind, and persons with physical disabilities; which would've qualified Mr Gibson's number for the shockingly skewed list.
"To kill that many children and adults because of their disabilities ... it was just such a shock; not only to learn about it, but to learn that it actually happened in real life," Mr Gibson said.
To kill that many children and adults because of their disabilities ... it was just such a shock not only to learn about it, but to learn that it actually happened in real life.
- 14-year-old, Knox Gibson
With the now-knowledge of the unfathomably violent and barbaric history - where historians estimate the German killing program claimed the lives of 250,000 innocent "life unworthy of life" victims - Mr Gibson recalled feeling stunned at the past truths.
"I was really, really shocked learning about the Nazis and everything involved with the 'Aktion T4' rule that came in - it was like this hidden part of history that people don't really know about," he said.
"But at the same time, the film's subject matter - as full-on as it is - hopefully it sends a big message; not only on raising awareness about the truth, but that just because someone has a disability, it doesn't mean they're not worthy or don't have talents ... because clearly, we do."
With many films portraying actors - without disabilities - as characters with disabilities, it raises the issue of inaccurate representation amidst the minority group, including concerns that surround the personal interests of the characters being played within those particular roles.
"A lot of movies that don't have actors with actual disabilities will usually have heaps of photoshopping involved or prosthetics edited in, like they did with the 'Skyscraper' film, for example," Mr Gibson explained.
"I mean, [actors with a disability] obviously have to have some good acting skills to get the jobs as well, but this is one of the first times that there's a film which has been created by a disabled director, that has a disabled actor in the lead role, who is also playing a character with an actual disability ... it's really a huge thing," Mr Gibson said.
... just because someone has a disability, it doesn't mean they're not worthy or don't have talents ... because clearly, we do.
- 14-year-old, Knox Gibson
While even the most experienced, long-term actors in the film industry will tell you that days on set are long, tiring and full-on, Mr Gibson will also tell you the same thing, albeit from the view of a young, emerging actor.
"It was a lot of work being on set - exhausting and long days - but the day in the snow was the worst," he said.
With days of filming sometimes involving minus 15 degrees celcius temperatures for the young Orange-based actor, what he'll also tell you, it's that it's been an experience worth every minute.
"It was freezing cold [in Canada], and I had to repeat scenes where I'm crawling through tons of snow, so that was a bit of a struggle that day, and it took a toll on me," he said.
"But I'm so grateful for Ashley [Eakin] reaching out and believing in me."
Knox's mum, Kate Gibson also described the countless hours of work that went in behind-the-scenes in preparation for the young man's lead role scenes.
"[The production crew] were really, really strict around safety but everyone needed to be careful because of the COVID situation at the time, which we also needed to get an exemption to travel," Mrs Gibson explained.
"We did WHS [Work Health and Safety] training via Zoom before travelling out about COVID-safety and provided equipment like proper N95 masks, goggles, hand sanitiser - so many things.
"We also did other webinars - which set-out the rules for on-set situations with different coloured zones meaning different things - and Knox did a lot of scene rehearsals and dialect coaching to prepare for his role."
This sort of film is huge for representation of disability ... [and] is probably going to send a pretty emotional, yet powerful message.
- Knox Gibson's mother, Kate Gibson
With its preview clip only recently released to give an idea of what to expect, the short 13-minute film, 'Forgive Us Our Trespasses' will officially air on Netflix from Thursday, February 17.
"The crew members for the film were really experienced and they'd worked on big, big Netflix productions in the past so it was fascinating to see people that organised with everything with it all being run so professionally ... it was the most amazing experience," Mrs Gibson added.
"This sort of film is huge for representation of disability, and not simply because Knox is in the lead role, but also because this 'forgotten' part of history - about the shocking way people with a disability were treated - is probably going to send a pretty emotional, yet powerful message."
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