6,000 Waiting (dir. Michael McDonald)

By: Adam Freed

People from Georgia carry a distinct pride in their home state.  The Peach State has raised generations of proud Georgians, from Atlanta to Athens, Savannah to Stonecrest.  But for more than 200,000 children in the state of Georgia living with a developmental disability, their sense of community pride has been diminished in recent years.  While a few hundred thousand people may not seem like an alarming number given the state's population, that figure represents 17% of children in the state under the age of 17.  And yet, despite this staggering fact, the state of Georgia is a laggard, not a leader in funding long term care for individuals living with permanent disabilities.  The exploration of the silent struggle shared by countless Americans is captured in Michael Joseph McDonald’s poignant and heartwrenching documentary short film 6,000 Waiting.  The film’s numeric title refers to the number of Georgia residents (6,007 to be specific) awaiting a state funded waiver permitting them to live where they choose, rather than in a permanent residency program.

Analyzing macro level data depersonalizes the individual magnitude of the crisis, which is why McDonald’s choice to focus on the stories of three specific individuals living with cerebral palsy provides a necessary and emotionally evocative insight into the true impact of the crisis.  For Ben Oxley, Noah Williams and Nick Papadopoulos, living away from their chosen communities in permanent residency facilities primarily designed for elder care, is a reality that the three have chosen to fight.  6,000 Waiting provides painful insight into the widespread dehumanization of those within the differently abled community. While the state once funded 1,500 waivers per year, the current administration has slowed this flow down to a mere trickle of 125.  The success of 6,000 Waiting is forefronted by the illumination of the struggles of the three men featured within the diminutive documentary, but McDonald’s choice to use Ben Oxley’s distinct voice to narrate portions of the film highlights Oxley’s warm and endearing personality as well as establishing a level of humanity found within each of the film’s subjects.  As may be expected with a topic as impactful as care for individuals with disabilities, not every story comes with a happy ending.  The success of 6,000 Waiting is not in the fact that it solves this ongoing issue, but rather brings awareness where it is so desperately needed.  Ben, Noah and Nick are only 3 of the 6,007 names on a list of individuals whose lives are seemingly on hold due to the reluctance of politicians to release necessary funding to individuals who cannot provide for themselves.  Hopefully, with the success of Michael McDonald’s resonant film, many of the lives on hold can become lives lived to the fullest.

Target Score 9/10 - 6,000 Waiting is a prime example of the power of independent documentary filmmaking.  Director Michael McDonald has masterfully illuminated a crisis that is as far reaching as it is individually devastating.