Ethical storytelling through a disabled filmmaker's lens
A Disabled Filmmaker’s Perspective on Afflicted
As a director, producer, and disabled filmmaker living with multiple chronic illnesses, I approached the Netflix series Afflicted with cautious curiosity. My GP recommended it, noting that one of the subjects shares two of my diagnoses: dystonia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). I hoped the series would illuminate these misunderstood conditions, but instead, I was left questioning the filmmakers’ true intentions.
Documentary or Reality TV?
From the outset, Afflicted felt more like reality TV disguised as a documentary. The series leans heavily into scepticism, framing its subjects’ experiences as controversial rather than legitimate. However, without providing compelling evidence to justify this approach, it fails as investigative journalism and instead feels exploitative. As both a documentary director and a person living with disability, it was apparent to me that the series producers were more interested in provoking drama than fostering understanding.
Ethical Failures in Documentary Production
My concerns deepened when I discovered allegations about the series’ production practices. One producer allegedly sent the text message below to Jamison, a subject bedridden for two years with ME/CFS.
Documentary producer’s text messages to chronically ill subject on Afflicted
While I appreciate dark humour in the right context, this crossed a line. It wasn’t just unprofessional—it revealed a disregard for the dignity of the people whose stories they were telling.
Respect should be non-negotiable in all genres of filmmaking. As documentary directors and producers, our ethical responsibilities include ensuring the safety and fair treatment of our subjects, cast, and crew. By prioritising empathy, authenticity, and compassion, we not only create safer sets but also produce more engaging and impactful outcomes.
My own experiences working on interview-based campaigns for organisations like MyIntegra (featuring an NDIS participant with PTSD and a learning disability), Stillbirth Australia, and the Black Dog Institute have reinforced this belief. As a documentary director, I’ve learned that building trust is essential to creating impactful factual content, and when subjects feel safe and respected, their stories will resonate more deeply with audiences.
Balancing Entertainment and Responsibility
Documentaries have immense potential to educate, foster empathy, and entertain—but these goals don’t have to be at odds. Truth is so often more compelling than fiction, and with a dedication to curiosity, compassion, and thorough research, it is possible to responsibly direct documentaries with commercial appeal.
Throughout my career, I’ve seen a spectrum of documentary filmmaking practices. On Big Miracles (Channel 10), the team at Ronde Media treated the emotional journeys of couples navigating fertility challenges with care and respect, and the series’ success proved that ethical storytelling can and will capture the attention of mainstream audiences.
My experience working on A Gap Year in Australia (MTV) served as a stark contrast. Not only did the production team disregard Australian employment legislation, Queensland traffic laws and Brisbane’s COVID-19 regulations, but the show’s experienced reality television director, showed a lack of insight into important local issues, like the recent droughts, fire and floods impacting the regional areas in which we were filming. It was clear that the priority was cultivating drama, at any cost. Interestingly, the series had a poor reception and was not renewed for a second season. Phew!
The choices we make as documentary producers and directors have real-world consequences. By prioritising spectacle over truth, Afflicted not only harmed its subjects but also perpetuated damaging stereotypes about chronic illnesses, undermining public understanding.
It is our responsibility as documentary directors to equip ourselves with the necessary skills. Documentary filmmaking should be a tool for advocacy, not a means of exploitation for capital gain, but in the right hands, there’s no reason why truth and commercially viable content can’t coexist.
Why Representation Matters In Ethical Storytelling
Chronic illnesses are already misunderstood by both the public and medical communities, and as we’ve established, portrayals like those in Afflicted deepen this misunderstanding and perpetuate stigma. Afflicted could have been a groundbreaking series, shedding light on the realities of chronic illnesses. Instead, it serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the dangers of sensationalism in documentary filmmaking. Perhaps if the director had been a person living with a chronic illness themselves, they would have possessed the necessary compassion to create a series that wouldn’t have received such widespread criticism.
As a disabled filmmaker I feel passionately about representation, and as someone with a chronic illness, I understand the importance of telling stories with both accuracy and compassion. My lived experience gives me a unique perspective as a director. I know what it feels like to be vulnerable, and this empathy informs every project I take on. Whether interviewing a subjects about their experiences such as living with mental illness or directing awareness campaigns about devastating topics like stillbirth, I always seek to honour the people at the heart of the story. As an Australian documentary director based in Brisbane, I’m committed to impactful, ethical storytelling across all genres, and whether I’m directing factual content or narrative, the goal should always be to amplify voices—not exploit them.
Despite the challenges I face as filmmaker living with disability, I remain hopeful that my career choice puts in me in a unique position to facilitate change through storytelling. And while it pains me to have to write about the exploitation of people at the hands of the television industry, I believe that in holding ourselves accountable, we can make impactful, ethical and entertaining documentaries and television series.
You can read more about Afflicted on Jamison Hill’s blog. To see my work as a documentary director in Brisbane, visit my portfolio.
