Los Angeles, Oct 17 – Director Derek Dabkoski’s masterly made documentary, Derek Changes His Mind, is a stunning and emotional piece. It follows the story of Dabkoski himself, who acquired a traumatic brain injury, leaving the right half of his body disabled, and his family’s struggle to gain citizenship and afford medical treatments for his disability to have better lives for themselves and their daughter.
In the documentary, Dabkoski talks about his life after acquiring his traumatic brain injury, including researching many kinds of medical treatments and studies to receive stem cells. This treatment would help restore some functionality to his right hand and leg to improve not only his life, but also help him support his wife and their young daughter. The course of the documentary displays many of the challenges that Derek and his family have had to face, from financial difficulties and immigration status to lack of access to medical treatments and studies needed for Derek’s disability.
Very rarely does an inspirational film about disability successfully not fall into the inspiration porn trope. Derek highlights his own lived experience navigating a broken healthcare and immigration system in such a poised way, beautifully showcasing the challenges of simply being human. This naturally came to be and was purely unintentional. When asked if Dabkoski sought out to make such an emotionally evoking film, he responded, “Mostly I started off, just want[ing] to make a movie. And during that period of time, I was doing something that we thought was interesting. And then dealing with all our struggles, I realized could serve as something inspiring, but also very emotional.”
Watching the documentary, I couldn’t help myself but cry not once or twice but perhaps five times due to its emotional depths and intersecting themes of disability, immigration, family relationships, financial difficulties, and ultimately one man’s desire to better support and care for his family with all of his heart and soul. This film was truly gripping and noteworthy.
RespectAbility team members viewed this film at The 2023 Awareness Film Festival, of which Derek Changes His Mind was an Official Selection. To follow the film and find upcoming screenings of the film near you, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DCHMFilm.
