Minda’s A House for Humans documentary shortlisted at Melbourne Documentary Film Festival
A documentary commissioned by Minda and led by the people it supports has been shortlisted at the 2026 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, telling the 125-year history of South Australia’s largest not-for-profit intellectual disability service provider in its clients’ own words.
A House for Humans traces Minda’s 125-year history, drawing on personal testimonies and historical records. The film does not shy away from the hardship and neglect that marked parts of that history, before moving towards more recent stories of connection and care.
Director Mitre Khammash describes it as a reckoning that acknowledges pain, honours resilience and paves the way for healing, reform and the future.
“A House for Humans grew from months spent listening to Minda’s clients, whose shared experiences transformed an open-ended truth-telling project into a feature documentary,” Mitre said. “It’s a film about giving voice to people who have too often gone unheard, and it has been one of the greatest privileges of my career to help tell their story.”
Rather than turn away from its past, Minda has chosen to face it openly, supporting the telling of 14 of its clients’ stories as part of its commitment to honesty, accountability and the people whose lives have been shaped by its care across more than a century.
Minda Chief Executive Dr David Panter said the film was an important act of honesty for the organisation and the wider disability sector.
“Our history holds moments of real care, but it also holds pain we should not ignore. Telling this story openly is how we honour the people who lived it, and how we keep learning from it,” Dr Panter said.
“Marking 125 years meant listening to the people at the heart of Minda, not speaking for them. A House for Humans faces the past so we can keep building this organisation guided by the people we support, focused on helping every person with an intellectual disability to live their best life possible.”
Directed by Mitre Khammash and Kym Mackenzie, A House for Humans runs for one hour and 26 minutes. The film is available to stream online across Australia through the festival’s platform, with tickets priced at A$11.
About Minda Inc
Minda is an industry leader, advocating for and working towards a truly inclusive community, a society in which everyone has equal access, respect and opportunity to participate. The organisation enables people with an intellectual disability to achieve their health and wellbeing goals and live their best life possible.
Minda is the largest not-for-profit intellectual disability service provider and employer in SA, providing home and living services, housing, children’s services, short-term respite accommodation, supported employment, day programs and community support, and allied health therapy.
Read more about the documentary, and watch it, via the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival platform.
