Espina

“ESPINA is my most personal project, inspired by my childhood friend Jonathan Benaim and guided by a desire to share the view of disability we grew up with; one shaped by humor, resilience, and love, without victimization or pity. It is a coming-of-age story for someone who never truly had the chance to experience one at 27, and a film that seeks to normalize a reality often seen as ‘not normal.’

Jonathan has a condition called Periventricular Leukomalacia, caused by medical malpractice at birth, which resulted in partial paralysis. But since we were kids, that never stopped us from going anywhere. We used to say no place was inaccessible: mountains, water parks, amusement parks ... hell, we even went skating down the highway in Caracas (Jonathan in his wheelchair, of course). Now, we say this film is just the next boundary we’re breaking together.”