Director reveals why his new movie will shatter societal stereotypes on Down syndrome

Upcoming film, 'Where Hope Grows' focuses on relationships with a man with Down syndrome

Purposely casting an actor who has Down syndrome to portray the lead in his upcoming movie, director Chris Dowling believes the film will shatter all outdated stereotypes society has against people with the condition.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - His new feature film, "Where Hope Grows," revolves around the theme of redemption and hope as friendship between a man suffering through his major life struggles and a young man with Down syndrome begins. The director hopes the movie hits right, in order to help understand this situation better.

"We're kind of stuck with these outdated stereotypes... a lot of times it's just ignorance. If you're not familiar on a personal level it could be a scary thing. What the character Produce does is he gives you a personal experience... it rocks everyone who sees it to the core," said Dowling in an interview with The Blaze last Friday.

Produce is played by first time actor David DeSanctis, who actually does have the syndrome. His casting is a risky decision made by Dowling who is uncommon within Hollywood.

"I had no idea what - if any - were going to be David's limitations. It's wrong... [DeSanctis] shattered every stereotype," Kristoffer Polaha told the outlet. Polaha, who plays the ex-baseball player Calvin Campbell, noted that there are a lot of people guilty of just dismissing others with special needs.

The director admitted that he was, as everyone else, relatively ignorant of the real life experiences of people with Down syndrome. Thus, he hopes to take others "out of the box" as the experience he had through making the movie opened his eyes.

"[I want viewers] to take the time... to look at my abilities and not my disabilities," said DeSanctis, as cited from the outlet. The young actor wants to shatter all stereotypes through his acting chops on the movie.

He is also hoping that he will inspire everyone like him to pursue their dreams and participate in putting away all the outdated stereotypes.

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