-Hello! How are you?
-Hello.
Thank you, everyone, for joining.
I am so pleased to see everyone today.
We're all here
celebrating the Rising Phoenix,
a film that we've all been a part of.
It's a film that tells the story
of the Paralympic movement
and how competitive sports
has impacted our lives
and the lives of people with disabilities.
Now, it's going to be streaming
on Netflix,
and this film is about the power of sport,
and that's what we're all here
to talk about.
So, first I would like to start
with describing ourselves.
I'm Tatyana McFadden. I'm 31 years old.
I have long brown hair, brown eyes.
I'm very strong as a wheelchair racer.
My name is Jean Baptiste Alaize.
I was adopted in France. I am 29.
Hey, my name is Ntando Mahlangu.
I'm 18 years old.
Right now, I'm wearing a bluish shirt.
I'm a double amputee,
so I lost both of my legs at a young age.
And, yes, I'm from South Africa.
Hello, everyone.
I am Matt Stutzman. I am 37 years old.
I was born without either my right arm
and hand and my left arm and hand.
My strongest attribute has to be my legs
because I do everything with my feet.
I'm Bebe Vio. I'm from Italy.
I'm blonde, I've got green eyes.
I'm a wheelchair fencer.
I don't know, I just speak so much,
so I'm sorry for that.
My name's Prince Harry.
I am 35, about to be 36.
I've got blue eyes.
I love sports and this is one
of the most amazing projects
that I've ever been part of,
and I'm honoured to be on a call
with such amazing, strong people.
Kind of the first big topic
that I want to talk about
is the one thing
that we all have in common,
that sports saved our lives
and it's therapy.
And I also feel like
it kind of has become a responsibility
for us to take things further, right,
in our communities, in our own countries.
So, do you think that sports
can give voice to the oppressed?
Sport plays a big part in my life
and it has changed for me
to evolve into the person
that I never thought I would be,
but then, into someone
that I want to be one day.
So, yeah, sport definitely can change
how people see things, you know.
And I think, you know, this film
that we are busy doing right now
is going to play a big role.
In 2004, it wasn't as…
Paralympics wasn't as known
as it is today.
People didn't really talk about,
you know, in the United States,
the Paralympics.
It wasn't celebrated
when we came back home.
When I returned
from my first Paralympics in 2004
with two medals around my neck,
I entered into high school
just to join the high school track team,
but I wasn't allowed to join.
I wasn't given a uniform
and I was not allowed
to work out with the team
and I was not allowed
to compete with the team.
So, all…
At the age of 15,
with the support of my parents,
I sued the County of my school system
for the right to compete alongside
able-bodied high school athletes.
And we prevailed in the County
and in the State,
and now it's federal law
and it mandates and requires schools
to allow people with disabilities
to join high school sports equally.
And I had to fight this at the age of 15,
right after the 2004 Paralympics,
so we still have a long way to go
when we talk about disability and rights
and things that we've had to face.
Harry, you've done such…
You've played such a huge role
in combating institutional inequalities.
This is why I'm so happy
you're also really a part of this movie
because I've seen what you have done
to the Invictus Games
and it normalised disabilities,
it normalised acceptance,
and it was building understanding.
Sport helps rehabilitate
and recover the individual,
but while the individual is recovering,
it's changing people's perceptions
and changing…
The amount of letters and emails we got
from our first Invictus Games in London,
thousands of people writing in saying,
"I've had a broken back for four years,
now I've just seen someone
who should be dead run the 100 metres.
Like, now I know…
now I know what my goals are."
For me, to see the difference or the power
that sport has in changing people's lives,
both within the sport
but also in the stadiums,
it was…
It's… it's humbling
and inspiring all at the same time.
I think with COVID
and everything else happening at the moment,
people need to be taught resilience.
And your stories and the strength
that you guys show is incredible.
And I think that needs to be seen more,
just as you said Tatyana,
it needs to be spoken about more
to try and get rid of the stereotyping
and those pre-conceptions.
I know, for me, I love my handicap.
For me, I'm normal.
You say,
"Oh, it's very complicated for this guy
because he only has one leg, blah, blah."
But I go faster than people
who have two legs.
You have a handicap?
Let's go. It's possible.
When I was 11 years old,
I went the to the State,
to the government, and I asked them,
"OK, guys, I don't have a lot money,
can you help me?
Can you give me a wheelchair
and prosthetics
to be able to practice fencing?"
And they told me that I was not good
because with my situation
I could never achieve some sport results.
And my family was like, "OK…"
My father invented my prosthetics
for playing fencing
because there was no other one
in the world,
and then from that moment,
we realised how much our family
was like reborn again thanks to the sport.
And so, my family created
a non-profit association.
Our task is to help others
with amputations to be part of the sport.
And now we are like thirty-five guys,
from three years old to thirty,
all of us with some amputation,
all of us doing some kind of sport.
And there is this little child,
he's six years old and he's without a leg.
He had never run in his life
before the prosthetics that we gave him.
He started running
without waiting for the teacher
to teach him like how to run.
I don't know.
But he saw all his friends running,
so he just put his legs on
and he just started running,
and he was like not stopping.
And when you see
a little guy doing these things
with a super big smile, super happy,
and on the other side, you see the family,
you see the parents at the back.
The parents were super happy,
they were crying because
they had never seen their little child running,
and had never seen him
super happy like this.
I think these little things
can change the world,
because this guy, now he's super strong,
he feels like he's a superhero.
I think that sports
does have the power to change the world
and to normalise disability,
and the more we talk about it,
the more we'll create acceptance,
and I think that's the common thing
that we're finding here.
So, Matt, I kind of wanted to move on
to talk about the question
of inequalities that you've had to face.
I mean, you've told me
so many numerous stories
about just trying to get a job,
you know, with a disability.
Can you talk about that a little bit?
In 2010, I couldn't get a job.
I would go in and apply
and on paper I qualified
but because I had no arms,
I looked different,
I would never get that chance
to just provide for my family.
I remember specifically one guy said
if I had prosthetic arms he would hire me.
Well, I haven't had prosthetic arms
since I was probably seven or eight,
and this is the life I chose.
What changed was, once archery
in the Paralympics happened,
was that now I do have that voice.
So, now that I'm back in the same town…
I can go to the same places
that would never even
give me a chance before
and if I wanted to work there,
I know that they would all
give me a chance.
And so, what I've learned
is that it gives me this opportunity
to not only educate people…
but to even possibly help out other people
that are in the same scenario, that…
need to understand that,
you know, we can do just as much
as everybody else,
and to not look at it or to not look at us
as just being somebody
with a physical disability.
We are very capable of doing everything
that everybody else can do
if we're just given that chance.
Do you know if it's possible for you
to compete with Olympic athletes?
Because you are so strong,
maybe it's possible--
Maybe you could be in the Olympics, Matt.
Yeah, so they shoot
a different, like, type of bow.
But in the United States,
right after my loss in Rio,
I decided to switch
to able-bodied-only competitions.
So, in 2017,
I actually beat the entire
United States able-bodied team
and won the National Championship.
Wow!
-Yeah.
-Wow!
Yeah.
Is there someone who began doing archery
with legs even though they had arms
just because you did it
and you did better?
-You have to be so flexible, Bebe.
-There is…
No, but I fit in all the rules
and so if they want to shoot
with their legs, they can.
Just won't be as good as with their arms.
How have you guys been doing
during this time?
Obviously, the postponement
of the Olympics and the Paralympics…
What are your hopes for Tokyo next year?
I looked at it as,
"I get a whole other year of making sure
I'm even better than I was this year,
so they all better watch out."
Like, that's how I took my mindset.
When it comes time for next year
when we do have the games…
Because in my mind, next year's games
are going to be even better
than what they were going to be this year,
just because the whole world's
going through this.
It will probably be one of the first times
we all get together
and enjoy sports with each other again.
And it's going to be huge and amazing,
and I want to make sure
that I was the best
that I've ever been in my life.
Going back to the gym
after the quarantine,
I think I'm much more focused now
on what I want to do
and how I'm going to be
in Tokyo next year.
I was kind of the same as you, Bebe.
I found that little silver lining.
It kind of allowed me to rest
and recover a lot better.
I used that time to redo my nutrition,
work on my sleep,
just really work on myself.
So, I feel like
I'm going to be a different person
going into Tokyo next year.
So, I'm happy
that you found the same as well.
For me, it's going to be a challenge
because next year I'm doing
my final year in high school,
so it would have been nice
for me to go this year.
But then, it's one year's experience
that I gain to go into next year.
So, yeah,
I think it's going to be something nice,
it's going to be the best.
You know, obviously,
I'm going for the gold also,
you know, after Rio,
having to get the silver medal.
So, I'm pushing for setting goals also,
but also, I'm going there to enjoy,
you know, athletics on the whole.
It's all about enjoying
every single moment
because you never know
when it's going to end.
So, while we have it and while we're busy,
you know, why not enjoy it
and, yeah, make the most of it?
Yeah, I… I 100% agree.
I have lost my sponsorship in France…
because they said, "Oh, we don't have
the Olympic Games this summer,
and we need to stop with you
because we don't know…
It doesn't make sense to continue with you
because we don't have the Olympics."
But, for me, it's complicated
because I've lost my job,
I have lost my sponsorship…
Yeah.
How to stay focussed on, you know…
I know me, with my past…
with my story…
I know how to come back, you know.
But now, I just need to take time
with my family and friends.
Sometimes it's good
because the body, it's more relaxed…
more "off"…
because we walk all the time with the body
and then it's good…
to take a break, you know,
for next year, for the next two years.
Tokyo will be ready for us regardless.
I've been to Tokyo, well, last year,
for the marathon in March,
and just getting a little taste of it,
just a year before the games -
well, supposed to be this year -
the city was like ready, you know.
Everything was accessible,
they had great ramps everywhere,
the cabs were wonderful
in taking our wheelchairs.
When we went check into a hotel room,
they said, "Oh, you don't ask for
an accessible room or a handicap room."
They said, "It's a 'universal' room.
Would you like a universal room?"
So, it was like…
It was huge! It was massive.
And the bed moved up and down,
in this direction, in that direction.
I mean, the shower was like huge.
So, I know it's going to be
another year away,
but I'm so excited to see the city.
I think that they are going to do
just a beautiful job
in the technology and accessibility.
So, what are your hopes
that this film will do?
I mean, anyone can go. I can start.
I hope that this film changes the world.
I hope that it brings,
as we were talking about,
maybe more sponsorships
to the Paralympics.
I hope it changes attitudes
and perceptions of disability.
I hope it normalises disability
and normalises acceptance.
If you know about the Paralympic Games,
if you know about Paralympic athletes,
you will fall in love with it.
So, I just think
that people need this film
because they will fall in love with it
and they will fall in love
with the Paralympic Games in general,
like Paralympic sport in general.
It is needed because
people need to open their eyes to it.
This story is about, you know,
bringing people together.
And I hope that this film can do that
and bring people together.
I don't think the word "hope"
should be in there.
I think, you know,
this film will change the perceptive
on how people see the Paralympics
and the games.
And this film
will bring the world together
so they understand what we can do,
what we're trying to do
as far as changing the world.
I don't have any hopes for it -
I know it's going to be amazing.
And I know anyone who sees it
is going to be automatically changed
on their views,
on how they see things,
and it will affect them,
whether they are watching it just for fun
or they are watching it
to learn something.
Across the world people are experiencing
unprecedented challenges
with themselves, with their families,
with the way that they live,
their environment that they are stuck in,
and I think, I hope…
My biggest hope is that people
watch this film and go,
"No matter how hard my life is,
no matter how hard a day or a week can be,
this is what I aspire to,
not just for me but for my family
and all my loved ones.
It is that element that I think
will end up changing the world.
So, well done. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much.
-Thank you.
-Thank you very much.
-It was amazing.
-Bye!
I hope you guys have a great day.
Paralympics is something almost magical.
Being a part of something
bigger than just yourself
was incredible.
