VISION

AUDIO

INTRO

OFF BLACK.

HOME VIDEO: A 90’s high-school, dance recital.

Students spin across a modest stage – their matching costumes sparkle in the strobing, pulsing lights.

The image warps and tears – it’s an old VHS RECORDING.

CHANDLER [THOUGHT TRACK] I was in dance all of my life. It was the thing I did.

CHANDLER [THOUGHT TRACK] Every year we had the big spring recital and they record it. And there was this one year… I was, maybe 14. My mom, she played it and for some reason, I asked my mom, I'm like, , is that how I look? And my mom said, “yes.”

VHS HOME VIDEO (CONT’D)

Amongst the dancers, the camera ZOOMS IN on someone unique… A young girl, the same age as the others but less than one third their height.

This is CHANDLER – she has achondroplasia, the most common form of DWARFISM.

CHANDLER [THOUGHT TRACK] But, you know, I still obviously knew I was shorter and that I had dwarfism and everything, but for some reason in my mind, and in my head, I looked as uniformed as all of the other girls.

CHANDLER [THOUGHT TRACK] And after I saw that video, I realized I was not going to be like everybody else. I was going to look like that  for the rest of my life.

VARIOUS ANGLES:

Lifestyle shots of some of the SHORT STATURED characters we’ll meet in the film. 

FLASH CUT TO:

VO: Around the world, one in twenty-five thousand children are born with achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism which stunts growth and can lead to dangerous health problems.

VO: But now, scientists have developed a drug, which they believe can treat the condition allowing patients to grow to average height.

VO: It’s being hailed as a miracle… but do those who are born small want to grow tall??

TITLES: DATELINE

CASPER & DR RAVI – ALTERNATE START

ALTERNATE START:

Starts at home with Daisy playing with Casper. A slice of normal life before going to the trial. I feel we’ll get a better sense of Casper’s achondroplasia here (rather than having him in the pram) before going to hospital.

VO: In the world of modern science Casper and his Mum Daisy are a pretty big deal.

VO: 14-month-old Casper has achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.

VO: But thanks to a scientific break-through, Casper may outgrow his condition.    

ALTERNATE START:

INT. CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL – DAY

An excited MARC meets DAISY who pushes CASPER in a PRAM.

Marc waves at Casper who waves back.

MARC - UPSOT [OFFSCREEN] Hello. How are you?

DAISY – UPSOT: Good Thank you. How are you?

MARC: I'm good. Who's this?

DAISY: This is Casper.

MARC: Hello Casper. How are you? Woo! I gotta wave!

VO: Since he was five months old, Casper has been part of a global trial for a drug called Vosoritide.

INT. TREATMENT CENTRE – MOMENTS LATER.

SIGN READS: Melbourne Children’s Trial Centre.
 

MARC follows DAISY & CASPER into a children’s ward. There are as many toys as medical instruments. 

The group makes a fuss over Casper who laughs and gurgles.  

RAVI – UPSOT: Here they are!  Oh, here he is! Hey who’s this guy? Who’s this grown up boy.
DAISY: Yeah, I know right!

VO: Doctors believe Vosoritide will help Casper and kids like him to grow at an average rate. 

RAVI - UPSOT: And how are the injections going?

DAISY: The injections are going well.

RAVI: And who’s doing them, mainly?

DAISY: Myself and Justin and my mum… sometimes.

RAVI: It’s good to have mum trained because then you can have a day off.

DAISY: Yeah exactly. Rest for mum.

VO: Geneticist Dr Ravi Savariryan is leading the trial. He’s known Daisy since Casper was two weeks old.

RAVI: IV: When I first met Daisy, she had all of those emotions. Which you can imagine. She was delighted to be a mum. But she was terrified that her child had achondroplasia.  

INT. INT. TREATMENT CENTRE – MOMENTS LATER.

DR RAVI begins his check-up of CASPER.

DAISY and MARC watch on.

CASPER wiggles around. RAVI and DAISY laugh and try to pin him down.

RAVI: UPSOT: Who’s this? Who’s this?

RAVI: IV: My job was to try and give her accurate up to date, information. So then she could get some control back over what was a very disempowering situation.

RAVI – UPSOT: I can tell he’s progressed because he’s getting much harder to examine than he was when he was a baby. He’s become a moving target!

VO: Achondroplasia affects bone growth. In adulthood, patients typically develop large heads, regular sized torsos and very short arms and legs, which limits their height.

RAVI – UPSOT: Does he stand at all unsupported?

DAISY: No not yet.

VO: Ravi believes that starting a few months after birth, a daily injection of Vosoritide, will help a child’s bones grow at an average rate.

INT. DR RAVI INTERVIEW – DAY

MARC chats with the good DOCTOR.

FLASH CUT TO:

MARC – IV (06:41) With Vosoritide, what does it actually do?

RAVI – IV (06:43): So basically, achondroplasia is like trying to drive your car with the handbrake on. It won't go as fast. And that's my analogy for the bone growth. This medication basically comes in and takes off that handbrake so that bone growth can resume as it would have otherwise.

GFX: VOSORITIDE EXPLAINER – PT 1

Graphics visualise MARC’S VO explanation of the causes of achondroplasia.

VO: In babies with achondroplasia, an important gene called FGFR3 is faulty.

VO: FGFR3 regulates bone development, but a rare mutation in the gene causes bones to grow slower than normal.

VO: An average 2-year-old grows six centimeters a year… while a child with achondroplasia grows about four centimeters a year.

 8

VO: When bone growth stops in early adulthood, the result is dramatic reduction in height and proportions.  

GFX: VOSORITIDE EXPLAINER – PT 2

Graphics visualise MARC’S VO explanation of how Vosoritide corrects the genetic mutation.

VO: Enter Vosoritide… When administered as a daily injection, a molecule within Vosoritide interferes with the faulty gene pathway, allowing bones to grow at a regular rate.

VO: The drug assists the faulty gene, minimizing the effects of achondroplasia… At least, that’s the theory.

INT. DR RAVI’S OFFICE – DAY – LATER

MARC and DR RAVI hover around a computer screen. Ravi talks through results on a growth chart.

MARC – IV: I guess what. What I'm interested in is the why? Like why does this matter to you?

RAVI – IV: There's actually 500 different types of dwarfism. Most people think it's a condition that just affects stature and they're totally unaware of the huge medical complications that patients can have.

CROSS CUT:

INT. TREATMENT ROOM & DR RAVI IV:

A research assistant, TESS, performs further measurements on CASPER as MARC and RAVI continue their IV.

TESS – UPSOT: Alright Mr, let's see if we can hook these up.

RAVI – IV: For instance, there's an increased risk of sleep disordered breathing, having to have an operation on your spine. In the first five years, the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome is 50 times that of a child without achondroplasia.  

RAVI - IV: So Casper is a really healthy child right now with a potential whole list of problems. And I hope this medication will mean that none of those problems will ever come to fruition.  

INT. TREATMENT ROOM

TESS continues measuring CASPER while MARC and DAISY watch.

Marc speaks with Daisy as Casper wiggles in her arms.










RAVI joins the group and conducts a few, final checks.

TESS - UPSOT: Alrighty Mr, do you want to help me hold that.

VO: The early data is promising. Results suggest patients achieve average growth after three to six months on the drug.

TESS – UPSOT: Good job! That’s that one done!

VO: The study is ongoing, with 121 kids enrolled in 7 countries around the world.

VO: For these kids, the cost of growing up is a daily injection at home, followed by frequent hospital visits for intensive testing and study.

TESS: UPSOT: Good boy!

VO: And there’s an even tougher pill to swallow.

VO: Being a controlled study, one in two patients are given a placebo in their first year on the trial… meaning Casper may not even be getting Vosoritide.

MARC – UPSOT: So there’s a 50 50 chance that he’s on inactive dose. How do you feel about that?
DAISY: Initially, I was hesitant. Because injecting Casper daily, giving Casper the injections when he wasn’t used to it was quite distressing .

But with time, Casper’s getting used to it, I’m getting used to it…

RAVI – UPSOT:  And as you know Daisy, the good thing is whatever he’s on, in active or inactive, after one year he’ll have access to the active drug until he finishes growing. 

VO: The good news for Casper, is that his one year anniversary is just a few weeks away.
 
VO: But the reality is there is no guarantee Casper or any trial participant will experience enhanced growth, or safely finish the trial. For all involved it is a giant leap of faith.

CROSS CUT:

INT. TREATMENT ROOM & DR RAVI IV:

As CASPER and DAISY leave, RAVI concludes with an IV

RAVI – IV: People like Daisy who put their children up for these trials, that are still in the early stage… experiments. It's a hugely courageous thing to do. She's putting her trust in us, in me, that this medication is going to benefit her child and not harm her aa child. So they are the absolute heroes of this. They're the pioneers of this. That's going to set the stage for the future.

DAISY’S CHOICE

DRONE – SUBRUBAN MELBOURNE – DAY.

HARD CUT TO:

INT. DAISY’S HOUSE – DAY

DAISY and CASPER play on the floor. Casper’s dad JUSTIN enters and joins in.

DAISY [THOUGHT TRACK] (01:22:11): There's a lot of work that goes into it. It's tough at times. But he's the love of my life and I just want to do as much as, as possible. to give him the best possible start to life that I can.

VO: All over the world, unsuspecting home’s like Daisy’s and Justin’s are where the trial plays out every day.

EXT/INT. DAISY’S HOUSE – LATER

MARC walks to the front door. Knocks.

DAISY holding CASPER and JUSTIN answer the door.

UPSOT: MARC: Hello!
UPSOT: DAISY: Hi Marc, how’s it going?
UPSOT: MARC: I’m good. Casper how are you? Big wave. How you been?
UPSOT: DAISY: Come in.

UPSOT: MARC: Thank you!

INT. DAISY’S HOUSE – KITCHEN – CONTINOUS.

DAISY, JUSTIN, and CASPER lead MARC into their kitchen where a INFECTIOUS SUBSTANCE COOLER BAG and a series of SYRINGES and VIALS are laid on the counter.

DAISY – UPSOT: So we're just about to get Casper's Vosoritide injection ready for the day. So essentially we just need to, mix the water with the powder vial to create the liquid. Then we wait a couple of minutes and then, get the injection ready.

INT. DAISY’S HOUSE – KITCHEN – MOMENTS LATER.

DAISY takes the syringe over to JUSTIN who’s holding CASPER – she cleans Casper’s thigh with a STERILE WIPE…

…then injects the VOSORITIDE.

DAISY: UPSOT: It’s alright darling it will only take a second.

*She injects him. Casper waits a beat then cries*

DAISY: UPSOT: There you go good little boy all done
*Casper stops crying*
MARC: And just like that, back to normal.

INT. DAISY’S HOUSE – KITCHEN – MOMENTS LATER.

DAISY fills out CASPER’S log book, then chats with MARC.

MARC: So you do this every day, every day. DAISY: Everyday.
MARC: So how long is he going to need to do these?
DAISY: Until he reaches his final adult height. Sountil puberty finishes.

MARC (00:49:15): That’s two decades.
DAISY (00:49:17): Yeah about two decades yeah.

INT. DAISY’S HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – LATER

DAISY, JUSTIN and MARC play with CASPER on the living room floor. Casper gurgles, and grabs for toys. His smile lights the room with ridiculous cuteness.

VO: For Daisy and Justin, it’s a huge commitment. Life with little Casper is very different than they were expecting when they first got pregnant.   

DAISY [THOUGHT TRACK] It was my first little bub.  I'd wanted to be a mum for a very long time. So we were very excited, until the point where we went for our 12 week scan., and we were told that something was wrong. But they weren’t sure what.

MONTAGE - STILLS:

(a)    DAISY holding little CASPER moments after he’s born.

(b)    DAISY, CASPER and JUSTIN during their first week at home.

JUSTIN [THOUGHT TRACK] When he was born, our doctor said he was pretty sure that he had achondroplasia. But he couldn’t confirm it.

DAISY [THOUGHT TRACK] And then we brought him home // And when he was 10 days old, they gave us a call and said, yeah, it is what we suspect.

RESUME - INT. DAISY’S HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – LATER

Play time continues.

DAISY [THOUGHT TRACK] I felt pretty ill-equipped at the time, but our hospital referred us to dr Ravi. And he sort of just said, “it’s going to be okay.” And we were told about the trial

INT. DAISY’S HOUSE – LOUNGE – LATER

MARC does a SITDOWN IV with DAISY and JUSTIN.

MARC: And so how did you weigh up the decision to put Casper through the trial?

DAISY: I think I had anxieties about what his future would look like, what his life would look like. Worrying about him getting bullied at school for his appearance. But ultimately the decision to, to become a part of the trial wasn't aesthetic or cosmetic for me. I love Casper the way he is and a lot of my decision was rooted in, health complications and avoiding as much of that as possible.

MARC: Have either of you, before the birth of Casper, ever had any dealing with a short stature people. Little people. Achondroplasia at all?
DAISY: No.

MARC: I guess one of the complications is, you’re two average height parents making decisions for a really young child that are gonna affect him for the rest of his life. How do you feel like you’re handling that pressure?

JUSTIN: There are days where, where, you know, you still doubt yourself and go like, am I doing the right thing? Am I doing everything that I could, um.

DAISY – IV:  As his parents at the moment, you know, we have a duty of care as it were. We want to give him the best start. So we are two average height parents, but two average height parents doing the best we can.

CROSSCUT:

DAISY and JUSTIN playin with CASPER

&

MARC interviewing them.

VO: Statistically, 80 percent of kids with dwarfism are born to average height parents… Meaning the decision to put children into the Vosoritide trial is often made by parents with little to no prior experience of dwarfism.

VO: This disconnect has led many to question the ethics of the Vosoritide trial… Some in the short-statured community going so far as accusing scientists of trying to eradicate little people. 

MARC (00:53:00): Did you realize early on that the trial was somewhat controversial amongst the little people community?

DAISY (00:53:08): No at the beginning. Um, but you know, we've been a part of it for a while now and I'm aware of the controversy surrounding it.

MARC (00:53:22): Can you, do you understand why there is controversy around it, in that community?

DAISY: Yeah. Yeah, I believe I do.

BECKY & DWARF PRIDE

DRONE – SNOW COVERED NEIGHBOURHOOD – DAY.

TEXT ON SCREEN: PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTES, USA.

EXT. PLYMOUTH SUBURBS – DAY

We see various GVs of the small town covered in SNOW. Life goes on as it always has, always will.

V.O: Right now, around the world, many adults with achondroplasia are angered by the development of Vosoritide.

VO: The strongest opposition is in the United States, where an estimated 30,000 people have a form of dwarfism.

INT. BECKY’S HOUSE – DAY

Talking to us, is a 30-something little person… BECKY.

BECKY – IV: I'm fearful of the drug vosoritide. I think it could lead to a lot more bad than good.

INT. BECKY’S HOUSE – DAY – LATER

Little people BECKY and RYAN potter around the house – preparing to go into the cold.  

VO: Becky a motivational speaker, and her husband Ryan belong to Little People of America, a support organisation for short statured people.

RYAN – UPSOT: Should I wear my Packers or my Patriots hat?

BECKY – UPSOT: Oh man... I think the Packers may match the green.
RYAN – UPSOT: Perfect

EXT. BECKY’S HOUSE – CONT’D

BECKY and RYAN walk down some regular size STAIRS.

They go to their GARAGE and hop into a large SUV.

VO: The organisation does not endorse the use of Vosoritide.

IV: BECKY: [THOUGHT TRACK] As a little person I'm super passionate about this space because I just don't think it matters what your height is. We just want a chance to participate in a meaningful way in society.

INT. CAR – DAY

BECKY surveys the white landscape as RYAN drives them to the shops.

RYAN – UPSOT: We got good weather today Becky.
BECKY: Gorgeous!

VO: Just like Casper back in Melbourne...Becky and Ryan were born to average height parents and into average height families.

VO: Both attended regular high school, graduated college and until recently, Becky worked as casting agent in Hollywood.

EXT. HOMEWARE’S SUPER STORE – DAY.

RYAN parks the SUV into HANDICAP SPACE. The pair jumps out of the car – it’s a long way to the ground for them.

RYAN – UPSOT: You look. Like a Christmas Tree.
BECKY: True! *laughs*

VO: Apart from their height, there’s nothing much that distinguishes them from your average American.

INT. SUPERMARKET – DAY.

Arriving in the SAUCE AISLE, BECKY can’t reach the TARTAR SAUCE on the top shelf.

She asks a MALE STRANGER for help. He grabs a bottle and passes it to her.

BECKY [THOUGHT TRACK] There is kind of a stigma.  That we can't do this. We can't do that. But I think there's just, we just find ways to figure it out

VO: In terms of day to day living that can be as easy as asking for the odd hand…

BECKY – UPSOT: Excuse me Do you mind helping us get the tartar sauce?

STRANGER: Okay.
RYAN: Yeah the fat free.

BECKY – UPSOT: Thanks very much

INT. CAR – DAY

Ryan talks to camera with INSERTS showing how his PEDAL EXTENSIONS work.

VO: Making simple modifications…

RYAN: OTF: They think you have to be tall to drive. I have a little accessory called pedal extensions that pushes the original pedal. 

INT. HOMEWARE’S STORE (CONT’D)

BECKY & RYAN arrive at a CHILDREN’S RECLINING CHAIR section. They inspect the puffy, leather chairs – could be for them.

VO: Or occasionally shopping in the children’s section…

RYAN – UPSOT: Actually it is kind of nice.

BECKY: Yeah!

RYAN: I think I do want it!

VO: The way Becky sees it, there just aren’t enough situations that require little people to change physically, a fact that empowers their community.

BECKY – IV:  I don't think me being a foot taller would add any additional value to my life. I'm who I am because of the way I was made.

BECKY – IV:  And yes, there are so many challenges that I've had to face to get to where I am today, but I think it just makes us stronger and it adds more to our characters.

INT. BECKY’S HOUSE – KITCHEN – LATER

BECKY and RYAN navigate a regular sized kitchen.

Becky climbs a STEP LADDER to fetch some cooking spray then stands on a BOX to wash some CUTTLERY in the sink.

BECKY – IV: People often ask me, if I could wave a magic wand would I choose to be a little person in my next life. And I always respond by saying yes. But I would change the way the outside world reacts to me being a little person.

CROSS CUT: INT. BECKY’S OFFICE DAY &
LAPTOP SCREEN: WOLF OF WALL STREET

BECKY and RYAN watch the film on a LAPTOP and talk to camera.

On the SCREEN: an office stuffed to breaking with greasy, partying Wall Street execs, picks up a LITTLE PERSON and prepares to toss them at and oversize DARTBOARD.

They throw the victim.

UPSOT: [ONSCREEN] DICAPRIO: The next cocksucker to get a bullseye wins 20 grand!

VO: According to Becky, the biggest challenge facing little people is the prejudice of the average height world.

UPSOT: [ONSCREEN]: Crowd Cheers!

IV: BECKY: (27:05): // That did happen to me when I was living in Los Angeles, where someone tried to pick me up and I ended up hitting my head on the cement…

UPSOT: BECKY: (02:09:06): // People assume that it's socially acceptable to pick us up and throw us across the room… People treat people with Dwarfism as non-humans.

VO: Becky and many others feel there’s a simple explanation for these attitudes.

FILM CLIPS:

BECKY – IV: Historically people with dwarfism have been portrayed negatively in the media as elves and leprechauns… And it just affects how each of us is treated in everyday life.

VO: Films like The Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka, The Wolf of Wall Street, AND Austin Powers are often criticized for their harmful depictions of dwarfism.  

VO: Many also argue that these negative portrayals lead parents to enroll children in trials for drugs like Vosoritide.

VO: Becky, fears the consequences for her people.

INT. BECKY’S HOUSE – LOUNGE - LATER

BECKY speaks to MARC over ZOOM – it’s now a formal interview.

MARC- IV: If this drug Vosoritide is approved and does become popular, what do you think will happen to that community?

BECKY- IV: I hate to say this, but I'm almost glad that I may not be alive during that time, because there may be no community if it becomes so popular. And that's scary.

MARC- IV (44:14): So when people say terms like genocide or elimination, it's accurate.

BECKY – IV (44:20): Absolutely. And people are talking about how it's meant to make our population extinct, but it's meant to take away the painful parts of what we go through.  (I feel that you can't have one or the other, like it's so much a part of our build and who we are. And like, if you're taking a drug to then eliminate the painful parts, but still keeping the character traits. I don't, I don't know if you can have both.

MARC – IV: Becky Vosoritide is being given to babies who really have no agency in this process at all. What do you think of that?

BECKY: IV:  If it was my baby, I wouldn't do it. Parents are fearful because they don’t have enough evidence of what the future can be like for their child. This is who we are and we can be fully capable and independent just as who we are. And yes there may be some medical procedures that come up along the way but it would just be so nice if people didn’t just think that we needed to be fixed and embraced who we were.

CROSS CUT:

INT. BECKY’S HOUSE & INT. DR RAVI’S OFFICE

BECKY & RYAN finish making lunch and bring it the dining room as MARC poses some tough questions to RAVI.

Becky and Ryan climb up the dining chairs and prepare to eat at a regular sized table.

MARC – IV: In the US this trial has faced pretty significant opposition from certain quarters. Why do you think that is?

RAVI – IV: There’s a big belief.  That this medication will inherently take away the identity of those people being treated. It's no more changing their identity in that if they have pneumonia and I treat them with penicillin.

MARC – IV: If you've got a community and their bonds are built on height, if we are talking about changing that over time some of that fear must be well-founded though?

RAVI – IV: Whenever something new comes out, it's controversial. When the treatment for leukemia came out in the forties and fifties, people said it's unethical to treat children with leukemia. You know, so, and now we wouldn't think twice about our children being treated with leukemia because we have almost a hundred percent improvement rate. But in the end, we're not trying to change anyone's identity. We're trying to keep children healthy.

RAVI: (16:56): The other thing is that these treatments are not compulsory. What they are, is an option for families. And when families hear about this option, almost always, they want an option that might improve the health of their child. But in the end, we’re not trying to change anyones identity we’re trying to keep children health.

INT. BECKY’S HOUSE – DINING ROOM (CONT’D).

BECKY & RYAN look at their meals then bow their heads.

MARC – IV (36:06): What would you like those parents to now be thinking about as they make those choices?

BECKY: IV: What is it that you’re trying to run away from or hid from. And what do you think this can fix?

BECKY - IV (40:03): Your child can be anything, give them the chance to spread their wings and be the best versions of themselves. And don't let your doubts or limitations get in their way.

CHANDLER WANTS TO BE TALL

DRONE – SMALL, RURAL CITY

TEXT ON SCREEN: LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

EXT. LITTLE ROCK – DAY

Various GVs introduce us to Little Rock – a town with a country/city identity crisis. Before long we find…

VO: Although Vosoritide is on the cutting edge… it’s not the only time science has tried to help people overcome the physical limitations of dwarfism.

INT. DEPARTMENT STORE – DAY.

Sifting through the WOMEN’S CLOTHES racks is a young woman who’s taller than her achondroplasia should allow…

This is CHANDLER.

Chandler sees a nice pair of pants

RACK FOCUS CUT TO:

CHANDLER – UPSOT: It’s just the little things in life like being able to just go into the store, buy a pair of pants off the rack, put them on and they just fit //

VO: 27-year-old Chandler was born with achondroplasia. Her parents are average so are her brother and sister.

UPSOT: Oh those are nice.

VO: But when she was a teenager, she chose to undergo a surgical procedure called “limb lengthening.”

MONTAGE: CHANDLER X-RAYS

We see CHANDLER’S before and after X-Rays – the bone breaks, and the pins that are put in.

CHANDLER [THOUGHT TRACK] (00:54:01) Limb lengthening involves the cutting of the bone  They go in and they put screws or rods in your legs or arms (01:33:29): and pull the bone apart a millimetre a day to let new bone form, and by doing that, that makes your bones grow longer, which makes you achieve more height and length in your arms.

MONTAGE: BEFORE & AFTER photographs illustrate Chandler’s change in height.

INT. SUPERMARKET – DAY.

CHANDLER talks to CAMERA as pushes a regular sized, TROLLEY through the aisles. She passes SHOPPERS who pay her no notice – a different experience to Becky and Ryan.

Chandler stops talking to camera - continues shopping.

CUT TO:

CHANDLER – UPSOT (01:49:01) // Being able to go to a store and I can before only really I would say this was the highest shelf I could reach before any of my lengthening’s. But you know, now I can just, grab a jar of sauce off of a shelf like that. you don't want to always ask for people to reach something for you. You just want to be able to just reach up and just drop a box of pasta, go about your day.

VO: Chandler is now 4 foot 11, over 30cm taller than she was expected to grow naturally.

INT. CHANDLER’S CAR – DAY

CHANDLER talks to camera as she directs her CAR through suburban Little Rock. Unlike Ryan she doesn’t need steering attachments.

CHANDLER – UPSOT: But now, I mean I'm able to just get in a car drive and not have to worry about pedal or hand adaptations and it just gives me another sense of independence that I can have.

MONTAGE: Pictures and video of Chandler’s THREE limb lengthening procedures.

VO: Chandler had her first lengthening at 16, a few years after seeing this home video...

VO: To gain her extra height she had 3 procedures each taking between six and eight months to complete.

VO: Being a good millennial she documented all of it on social media.

CHANDLER – IV: I wanted to share my experience because no one with achondroplasia had ever been transparent about their experience with limb lengthening.

UPSOT: FROM VIDEO

CHANDLER: I always heard opinions from people with dwarfism about lengthening that, it was very excruciating and your bedridden and you’re doing all this just to be taller. And that’s not it at all. But I mean I think that’s what started it all for me was sharing my story because no one else had.

INT. CHANDLER’S HOUSE – DAY

CHANDLER sits with her Mum, CATHE they flip through old PHOTO ALBUMS, stopping at pictures of little Chandler growing up.

CHANDLER: - UPSOT: This was like my I'm going to wear eyeliner phase.

VO: Chandler now works as a patient advocate, helping parents understand the medical treatments available to children with dwarfism. 

MARC ALT:

VO: But the reaction from the short statured community hasn’t always been good

INT. CHANDLER’S HOUSE – LOUNGE

CHANDLER talks to MARC over ZOOM

MARC – IV: Chandler, when you decided to get limb lengthening, what did you hope it would achieve?

CHANDLER – IV: First thing in my mind that I was hoping for was that I would look like everybody else. It wasn't really a matter of my height. It was more of a matter of I just, I wanted to look normal. I wanted to be normal. I wanted to have a normal life.

MARC – IV: You’ve been pretty upfront talking about this experience. Have you had any pushback from the rest of the community?

CHANDLER – IV: I've experienced and still today experience a lot of pushback from the Dwarfism community who would private message me and tell me that my family never loved me. They never accepted me…

*BEAT*

CHANDLER – IV: They told my mom. I'm going to cry. They told my mom, your child is not one of you. She is one of us… And there are day when those words get to me, but at the end of it, why does the choice that I made for myself affect you?

MARC - IV: Why do you think it bothers them that you had this procedure and you’re so vocal about it?

CHANDLER – IV: Honestly it’s really this tension that exists about average height or average stature verses dwarfism.  

MARC – IV: If a drug like vosoritide was the choice when you were younger, do you think it's something you would have taken up?

CHANDLER IV:  I know had I had an option like vosoritide, it is something that in a heartbeat I would have wanted to be on or wanted to be taking. Vosoritide treats and prevents a lot of the risks and complications that come with having a Achondroplasia, but it Achondroplasia itself will not go away.

AD BREAK

A VOSORITIDE FUTURE

DRONE – SUBRUBAN MELBOURNE – DAY.

TEXT ON SCREEN: MELBOURNE

INT/EXT. DAISY’S HOUSE – DAY

After an establisher, we find DAISY sitting on the couch with CASPER, reading a PICTURE BOOK to him.

In the kitchen, Justin fills a SYRINGE with VOSORITIDE and walks to Mum and Bub.

DAISY: UPSOT:  We’ll gather supplies and make them our own and prepare to take flight into the great unknown.

VO: Back in Melbourne, now 17 month old Casper and his family continue to be part of the global trial for Vosoritide – a controversial drug which may help children with dwarfism grow tall.

DAISY – UPSOT (00:16:51) You're one of a kind and it's plain to see... The world needs who you were made to be.

DAISY – UPSOT: (00:43:55) Just sit still and we can get you back to your toys.

VO: I first met the family 3 months ago. Since then, parents Daisy and Justin have given their son around 84 shots.  of either Vosoritide , or a placebo

SOT: (00:44:27) Casper gets his shot and begins to cry.

DAISY - UPSOT (00:44:27) Shoosh it's alright darling.

EXT. PARK – DAY

DAISY unfurls a PICNIC RUG on the grass, lifts CASPER from his pram and places him, belly down, on the rug. They sit and play and after a beat…

… Casper stands up.

He smiles, a BEAMING, PROUD smile.

SOT: The *woosh* DAISY unrolling a picnic rug.

VO: And while they don’t know if Casper has already been receiving the active drug,  there have been some big changes for this little man.

DAISY – UPSOT: Hey darling. Look at you! Hey there! Hey there.

DAISY [THOUGHT TRACK] (02:16:17) We’re very excited ‘cause Casper’s managed to pull himself up on and stand // He can bare his body weight on his legs. Even if we’re holding him he likes to stand up and he pulls himself up into that position.

DAISY: We’re just so very proud of him…

VO: It’s not the only change…

INT. CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL – DAY.

RAVI and TESS react excitedly to the arrival of CASPER with DAISY and MARC in tow.

RAVI – UPSOT (02:33:34) Oh my goodness who is this big guy.

DAISY: It's Casper!

RAVI: Wow, he's grown heaps.
 

VO: It’s been a year since Casper joined the trial, and after a series of tests Dr Ravi has some news.

RAVI - UPSOT (02:11:37) So today, we’re going to be consenting you to the next part of the study which is the long-term extension part – which means he’s 100percent sure to be getting the active drug. And he’ll be on that medication until he stops growing and that could be for the next 18 years… Thanks for hanging in there for the whole year.

DAISY: No problems. Thank you!

INT. CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL – MOMENTS LATER.

RAVI sits at a desk with DAISY – she nurses CASPER on her lap. Ravi goes over the CONSENT FORMS.

Daisy fills out the form and SIGNS.

Ravi checks over it. Then SIGNS.

RAVI - UPSOT (02:18:53) So you understand that the next part of the study is until he finishes growing, but at any point if it’s not suitable for you or for him you can pull out.

DAISY: Okay.
RAVI: Well then, if you’re happy with that. // I’ll just get you to write his name there. CASPER: *Squeals*
RAVI: That’s you! ** And I’ll get you to write your name there. And your signature there and the date. And I’m going to sign to say that I’ve told you everything and that you understand.

SOT: *Pen scratch as Ravi signs*

RAVI - UPSOT: Welcome to the next part of his journey.

DAISY: It’s very exciting thank you.

INT. CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL – MOMENTS LATER.

DAISY brings CASPER over to a corner of the room, and places him, STANDING UP for RAVI to examine.

RAVI – [THOUGHT TRACK] (02:28:38) What Daisy and I spoke about when we first met, is that the condition that Casper has means that he has a much higher risk of medical complications, functional limitations and other issues. And I just want to remove all of those so that he can live a life without any of the consequences of his medical condition. // We feel very privileged that we can offer this to families and that families are brave enough to take it up.

RAVI – UPSOT (02:23:43) Yeah just stand him up. Oh look at that, very good. How long has he been doing that?
DAISY: Oh just the last couple of weeks.
RAVI: Well you know what that means. He’s about that far from walking which means you’re about that far from trouble
MARC: *Laughs.*

DAISY [THOUGHT TRACK] (02:25:57) It’s sort of surreal to be honest but it’s a very great privilege. I had difficult experience but something really positive has come out of it. And if that can help influence and shape the lives of other families down the road then I’m thrilled with that.

EXT. PARK – PICNIC – DAY

CASPER, JUSTIN and DAISY, sit on a picnic blanket surrounded by little people.

Another toddler with achondroplasia, SIENNA plays with Casper.

VO: But behind all the excitement is the reality that Casper is a boy growing up between two worlds.

SIENNA: UPSOT: Froggie, goes ribbet. Ribbet!

VO: For Daisy, it’s important for her son to know that whoever he becomes, he won’t be alone.

SIENNA - UPSOT: Ta.
DAISY: Ta Casper. Good boy.

VO: Today, Casper’s meeting members of Short Statured People of Australia...

DAISY – UPSOT: He has four words and I’m quite dissapointed that not one of them is “Mum.”

GROUP: Laughs.

VO: Sam, is president of the organisation.

SAM – IV: We're an organization that provides support to people living with dwarfism. The basis of our organization is equality of opportunity and also trying to provide an opportunity for people to meet like-minded individuals, people with similar conditions to themselves and, um, yeah. Be around people that are like them.

VO: For Casper, today is a chance to play with other short, statured kids like 4-year-old Sienna.

SIENNA – UPSOT: I just told Casper I love him.

VO: For Daisy and Justin it’s a place to get answers they won’t fine elsewhere.

LADY – UPSOT: It was a whole new world parenting a child with short stature as opposed to being a short statured person myself. I’m still learning about the questions I need to look out for and do for her.

VO: For Casper, the question right now, is whether he’ll be accepted here, if he outgrows the group.

ALT:

VO: But if Casper does outgrow this group, will he still have a place in it?

SAM – IV: the drug trial has kind of been a journey I suppose, for the organization. But we want people to know that whether they want to be part of it or don't want to be part of it, they're welcome in our organization. And... Being part of the community has nothing to do with height. It has to do with, um, the condition and has to do with identifying with, uh, your peers.

EXT. PARK – DAY – LATER

Slow mos of kids like at the opening of the film.

VO: Vosoritide is expected be approved in Australia as early as 2022.

VO: Even if it can treat achondroplasia, the effect on the world’s short-statured community won’t be known for quite some time…

VO: And the question of whether kids like Casper should grow tall will face families for years to come.

CHANDLER [THOUGHT TRACK] I always say kust let everyone make they’re own decision and it’s always best to be educated and know what’s out there.

BECKY [THOUGHT TRACK] I wouldn’t do it. But at the end of the day they’re a human being who wants to be loved and respected. I would welcome them with open arms.

DAISY [THOUGHT TRACK] I would hope that people respect that our intentions were pure and we did what we thought was right, for the right reasons.

INT. DAISY’S HOUSE – DAY

DAISY and JUSTIN CHAT TO MARC

JUSTIN – IV: We did it out of love.
DAISY – IV;:Absolutely

RESUME: EXT  - PARK – DAY.

CASPER happily plays in DAISY and JUSTINS arms.

DAISY [THOUGHT TRACK] For us, Casper is just like a normal child. He really is just like any other child really.

NEXT WEEK

OVER CREDITS

VO: Next week... Dateline meets Japan's junior pop idols and the middle-aged men who are their biggest fans. Is this a quirky sub-culture or something more sinister?

VO: And up next...The Feed

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