Director Dominick Evans brings honest storytelling to Spaces music video with the SMA Community

It’s not every day a piece of media is released that spotlights the disability community, but to have an entire media actually involve those who are affected? That’s something entirely different. 

James Ian’s new release Spaces does exactly that, with the help of Director Dominick Evans and other friends in the Spinal Muscular Atrophy community.

How Spaces Started

The SMA community was wanting to show the world what it was really like to live with the disease, in a clear but meaningful way. What started out with emails, calls and video chats, quickly formed into a cohesive idea and project.

Evans wanted to show how diverse and different everyone is in the SMA community firsthand. What better way than a music video to showcase how incredible people with disabilities not only can be, but already are.

“We are creators, and we are professionals.” says Evans. “We thought it would be a good way to show the world our talents while addressing the stigma we face as disabled people with SMA.”

What is SMA?

According to mda.org, Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a genetic disease affecting the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and voluntary muscle movement. The disease can manifest itself in different ways and to varying degrees.

Everyone affected by SMA and other disabilities has different symptoms and different ways of managing their lives. Evans wanted to show this with honest and authentic storytelling.

“It was important to me that we show a diverse group. People with all types of SMA, from all different backgrounds and different lived experiences.”

Evans does this by using pictures and sharing the stories of real people living with SMA. With the video, Evans is able to show that people who live with disabilities can and do want things everyone else has, and whether it be a professional career or a family, your disabilities do not determine your worth or right to have them.

“I’m a narrative filmmaker so I feel like I tend to turn to the story element. This is the story of these people just living their lives. We want people to see that we are human.”

The Future For People Living With Disabilities

The lyrics and message are clear when you see the video, and Evans hopes the video does more than just showcase talent; he hopes it inspires others to do something about the way disabled people are treated by society, and portrayed in media.

“I want people to look at the world and think of accessibility more. People born healthy can also become disabled, and this can end up being their story too. Accessibility benefits all of us, and if people start thinking about it like that, the world could be better.”

Evans isn’t done with his mission either. He hopes to do more directing in different forms and pave the way for others.

“Creating accessibility for others is important to me, and I want to bring others along with me on this journey,” says Evans.

The video was sponsored by Genentech, and you can find all information about SMA and the community here.

If you’d like to see where we’ve talked about positive representation in the disability community, check out our article about Doom Patrol here.