Private Project

Disposable: Life on ODSP

A documentary about people living on the Ontario Disability Support Program and the poverty many of them face.

  • Emily Nell Pot
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Social Justice, Disability, Political
  • Runtime:
    24 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 22, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Emily Nell Pot

Emily Pot is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer based in Toronto, Ontario. She's had a love for film and the arts since the age of 9 where she began creating stop-motion animation videos with her dolls. Emily attended Humber College for a Bachelor's in Film, focusing heavily on cinematography. Within cinematography, Emily has a fascination with film noir and technicolour lighting styles, recently filming the heavily stylized "Alice and the Fishing Pond" by director Madeleine Aimée funded by Canada Council for the Arts. Upon graduating college, Emily started filming her first documentary "Disposable: Life on ODSP" which explores the lives of people on the Ontario Disability Support Program and the poverty many of them face. Emily is drawn to stories about disability justice, as she has two younger sisters with disabilities. Growing up with them exposed her to the world of disability and motivates her to use her talents in film to inspire social change.

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Director Statement

"Disposable: Life on ODSP" is a film about people on the Ontario Disability Support Program and offers a glimpse of the poverty many of them face. The disability community is familiar to me, as I have two younger sisters with a rare diagnosis that includes global developmental delays. Growing up with them has made disability issues very important to me, instilling in me a desire to learn more about response and action. As I aged and discovered activist circles online, I became aware of many more experiences and injustices. I learned more about ODSP and the poverty many people on ODSP face as well as its relation to MAiD (euthanasia). It unsettled me to see no one except those affected by disability talking about it, and I was challenged to respond. With making this film, I approached it much like a journalism piece. I learned a lot more about disability and the way our current welfare systems force people to stay in poverty. The film includes conversations with my three subjects -- Ron, Mitchell and Trevor -- as they share their stories of living on ODSP.

I hope "Disposable: Life on ODSP" serves as a good starting point in educating people on the topic of disability poverty and that it motivates people to come together and help.