Stand Up

After a night out drinking with friends in Rotterdam ends in a terrible crash, twentysomething Vera wakes in the hospital to discover one of her legs has been amputated. Frustrated and angry, she struggles to accept her new reality until she encounters kindred spirit Xander inside her rehabilitation facility. Frank and funny, he has no patience for the platitudes offered to people with disabilities and no particular interest in following the institution’s rules. As Vera develops charged feelings for Xander, she also embarks on her own journey to understand how to live life on her terms while navigating the world in a wheelchair.

Dutch director Mari Sanders, who himself uses a wheelchair, delivers a smart, engaging and refreshingly unsentimental feature debut powered by winning, naturalistic performances from leads Lucia Zemene and Daan Buringa. Sanders’ decision to cast actors living with disabilities to portray the film’s disabled characters grounds Stand Up in genuine authenticity, depicting a community too seldom seen on screen.