When I became acutely ill in 2010 with symptoms related to cervical spine instability, I fell into a big hole and didn’t quite know who I was anymore. I had to give up my job in research and couldn’t do most of the things I loved. For a long time, I struggled to find a new sense in life, something that gives me hope and purpose.

And then ’We Are Visible’ happened! When I started to study in a journalism degree in Edinburgh, Scotland, I immediately knew that I wanted to produce a documentary film for my MA thesis. Even though I had never filmed before and didn’t know much about filmmaking, I felt that it would work out if I just put all my heart in it. And I certainly did!

With my film ’We Are Visible,’ I wanted to give a voice to an often neglected minority: People with invisible disabilities, specifically people living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. I am part of this community as well, and therefore see it as my responsibility as a filmmaker and journalist to change misconceptions surrounding invisibly disabled people.

”How can you be sick if you look totally fine?” is one of many hurtful comments people in my community have to hear on a daily basis because you can’t see their disability from the outside. Journalists and filmmakers alike talk about these people but not with them. I wanted to change this, so ’We Are Visible’ directly involved all of its contributors in order to represent this community in an accurate and truthful way.

’We Are Visible’ shows people living with the invisible condition Ehlers-Danlos syndrome all around the globe and therefore conveys its diversity by following families in England, Malta, Germany, America, Holland, and Belgium throughout their daily lives.

’We Are Visible’ wants for the non-disabled audience of this film to understand more about the invisible condition, and for disabled viewers to be able to relate to people with a similar disability because there is so much more that unites than what separates us! But most importantly, it emphasizes not only the challenges we face every day but also the incredible strength every person with EDS has in order to cope with all those obstacles.

Pencil like drawings of all the faces of the main contributors of We Are Visible.

We Are Visible – Open Your Eyes

Details about the Film

SYNOPSIS:

“But you don’t look sick!”

‘We Are Visible’ gives a voice to a neglected community: People living with invisible disabilities, specifically in the context of the rare condition Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). It showcases the challenges this community faces due to misconceptions surrounding invisibly disabled people and conveys the strength and resilience with which this community fights to become seen. Our condition might be invisible, but we are not!

We Are Visible

SCREENINGS of the film:

In January, there will be screenings in Rhode Island, Colorado, and a larger one in Orange, California. If you want to join any of those screenings, have a look at the Event page: https://we-are-visible-film.com/events/

Duration:

69 minutes

Director, Producer, Editor

Karina grew up in Germany but currently lives in San Francisco, CA. After finishing school, she has worked in the medical field for eight years. As a laboratory technician, she worked in a German research facility with a focus on biotechnology. In 2010, she developed symptoms related to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and comorbid conditions and was unable to continue her research. She soon found her passion for writing and started to combine her medical knowledge with her personal experiences with disability and chronic illness and produced articles about medicine, science, and disability. 2018, Karina was accepted into a journalism program in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has been studying ever since. As part of her degree, she has worked with blind journalist Belo Cipriani and produced three accessible short films called ”Firsts” that feature writers with different disabilities. Additionally, she writes for an Austrian magazine for medical professionals with a focus on the patient’s perspective, and she has also written for international publications such as the Columbia Journalism Review. Besides journalism, Karina has a strong passion for all activities that involve being on or in the ocean. She loves traveling, dogs, facts, and Heavy Metal music, and hates lies, intolerance, and cooking.

More about the filmmaker: www.karina-sturm.com