The Man About Town

A Mackay entrepreneur made his red-carpet debut at the premiere of his documentary at BCC Mount Pleasant last Thursday.

Adam Broadstock is the star of ‘The Man About Town’, a short documentary about carving a career through his business ‘Adam’s Special Deliveries’, a play on the acronym for ‘autism spectrum disorder’, the condition Adam lives with.  

“When Adam was ready to leave school, about the age of 18, we had no idea what he was going to do, there was nothing available for him, and we were a little concerned about his mental wellbeing as well as his social life,” said Adam’s mother Paula Broadstock.

Adam was given a small mail run which continued to grow and grow, eventuating to the small business he runs today.

“He likes driving and he likes meeting people, he likes being social,” Ms Broadstock said.

The film is one of six in the fourth season of the ‘Fearless’ series by Feros Care, shining a light on the value of diversity in the workforce.

“We want to be able to start a conversation within the community about more people in the workforce with disability,” said Feros Care Executive Manager of Disability and Community Development Jo Field.

“When people with disability can overcome the barriers to get employment, it absolutely adds value both to their life and to the life of their employers or companies.”

Ms Field is concerned about the statistics, saying 20% of Australians live with a disability however only 9% of workplaces in Australia employ people living with disability.

“We’re out to change that and we’re out to challenge those stereotypes that prevent people with disability getting into employment,” she said.

“We want him (Adam) to be an inspiration, a role model, a motivator for lots of others.”

The fourth season is the first involving people with disability both in front of, and behind, the camera, however it is not the first time Sydney-based filmmaker Julian Neuhaus of Ironbark Films has worked on an inclusive set.

“When I step onto any project, particularly if it’s been done by someone else before, my inspiration is to try and bring something new to it, something different, and we’ve done that through the inclusive filmmaking aspect,” Mr Neuhaus said.

“They’re gaining experience but they’re actually helping out in the crew and they’re actually in a valued role and contributing to the project.”

Mr Neuhaus directed and produced all six films in season four alongside film students who were in paid employment roles.

“You do all sorts of different projects but making content that not only people want to watch but content that I like to think will make the world a better place is really the stuff you like doing the most because there is value in it,” he said.

Alycia Staples is a film student with Bus Stop Films and was flown from her home in Brisbane to Mackay for both the filming and the premiere of ‘The Man About Town’.

“I’d heard of Julian because he was a teacher at Bus Top Films in Sydney so when I heard about him, I was like, ‘Okay, he seems pretty awesome, sign me up!’” she said.

“It was just one of the best experiences I’ve ever had because, one, I got to work with a different organisation and, two, I got to meet new people in the organisation.

“I learnt a lot from Julian and from the other people in the organisation.”

Fearless Films Season Four, named ‘People With Disability Carving Careers’, will be officially launched online on December 2 ahead of the International Day of People with Disability on December 3.

View the trailer and sign up for the full series premiere at www.feroscare.com.au/fearless4.

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