Documentary shows harsh reality of accessible transportation
These were all the things Jeff Preston, 26, needed as he traveled by wheelchair from London to Ottawa last year as part of his Mobilize March. His purpose was to bring awareness to the issue of accessible transportation.
“People said, ‘Are you sure you can do this?'” said Preston. “My response? ‘Why wouldn't I be able to?'”
While on the road, Preston was diligent in taking footage of the journey and it has culminated in his documentary, Idling: A Transit Story.
The reason behind putting his work into a documentary was two-fold, said Preston.
“It aims to educate, and it aims to inspire,” he explained. “News stories give justification for excuses like (accessible transit) costs too much. It's never explained how bad the system is.”
“I talk about the reality, what's happening on the ground — day-to-day.”
The first chapter of the documentary was released online on September 4 and subsequent chapters have been released every week after that. The goal is to have the entire hour and a half documentary available for free at the end of September, said Preston.
While the idea of having a public screening is possible, the facilities to house that many viewers in wheelchairs are difficult to find. Also in an ironic twist, many would require special transit to get to and from the event that would likely not pan out, said Preston. It just made more sense to put it online where people could easily watch it from their homes.
Preston hopes the documentary will inspire those watching to feel they can do something about making transit accessible.
“There's power in knowing you're not the only one frustrated by it,” he said. “They can fix this, they have the power to do it.”
The more individuals his documentary can affect, the more encouraged he hopes they'll feel going head-to-head with city hall.
“I dare them to say it to our face they can't fix it,” he said of members at London's City Hall.
The doctoral candidate in media studies at the University of Western Ontario is currently promoting his efforts online with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Digg and has garnered some big name attention. The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation have been “re-tweeting” his posts, something he said he never expected would happen.
Preston's been working diligently to get his message and documentary out to viewers, but he also just wants to show people what one man is capable of doing.
“We as a society are so focused on what we cannot do,” he said. “Once we get past massive mental obstacles, we open ourselves up to the ability to accomplish some pretty incredible things.
“And I think that's really special.”
