Disability, despite being an integral part of human diversity, continues to be portrayed in the media through limited and often misleading frames of charity, tragedy, or inspiration. The gap between the lived experiences of persons with disabilities and their mediated representation remains one of the most persistent challenges in global communication. This paper examines how the global and Indian media ecosystems construct, prioritize, and circulate disability narratives, drawing specific insights from the International Purple–We Care Film Festival on Disability Issues held in Goa in 2025. As part of this research, the author participated in and witnessed the four-day festival, an international confluence of filmmakers, educators, and differently-abled participants from over 40 countries. Interactions with filmmakers, jury members, and persons with disabilities during the event revealed how authentic, rights-based storytelling can transform not only cinematic narratives but also social consciousness. The lived encounters from interviewing participants to observing films made by and about differently-abled individuals demonstrated that this community is not seeking sympathy but visibility, respect, and recognition. Drawing upon data from UNESCO (2023), WHO (2022), and the World Bank (2024), as well as observational analysis from the festival, this study argues that disability communication must move beyond token representation toward structural inclusion where accessibility, agency, and authorship become integral to the media-making process. The festival reaffirmed that the media’s role is not merely to show disability but to understand and engage with it. It is a reminder that inclusive storytelling is not only a professional responsibility but also a moral imperative. By connecting first-hand experience with theoretical inquiry, this paper advocates for an educational and institutional approach to media that gives disability communication its rightful space, in curricula, in production, and in public imagination.

Keywords: Disability representation, inclusive storytelling, accessibility, media education, participatory communication, digital inclusion.

Nipunika Shahid, Assistant Professor, Christ (Deemed to be University), Delhi-NCR Campus, Ghaziabad

Madan Singh, Associate Professor, Christ (Deemed to be University), Delhi-NCR Campus, Ghaziabad

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