![What About Sal will air in Bowral this week, and is led by actor Gerard O'Dwyer. Picture supplied What About Sal will air in Bowral this week, and is led by actor Gerard O'Dwyer. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/123048163/163befeb-3fce-438b-8082-7a277ebe3bbc.png/r0_0_1840_910_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Sheer joy at a football game sparked an idea for John Jarratt's latest Aussie drama.
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The actor and director was at a match and was sitting near a man with Down Syndrome who was there with his mum, and was "absolutely enamoured" with one team.
"Every time we scored, it was like he'd found mecca," he said.
"There's a make-up of Down Syndrome people, they're so effusive and nothing seems to bother them too much you know, and it was just such a pleasure to be with him that afternoon."
When the McLeod's Daughter's actor went to his car after the game, he wondered to his friend what would happen to the man after his mum passed away - so What About Sal was born.
For the movie he's directing, which was shot in the heart of Sydney and Glebe, he knew he wanted Tropfest winner Gerard O'Dwyer to play Sal.
The movie follows Sal's journey to track down the father he has never met, who is played by the director.
Sal grapples with the news of his mother's lung cancer diagnosis, and faces the possibility of being moved to a group home.
It explores love, loss, reconciliation and shines a spotlight on the experiences of people with Down Syndrome.
"I just knew that he could handle the part and I approached him, and with the idea with him and his mum one day, and they loved the idea and it went from there," he said.
![Sal learns of his mother's cancer diagnosis and goes searching for his father, who he has never met. Picture supplied Sal learns of his mother's cancer diagnosis and goes searching for his father, who he has never met. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/123048163/0c37ffef-5177-4eec-9ffe-f82153f41582.jpg/r0_68_1920_1011_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The film will be screened at the Empire Cinema on May 16, which will be followed by a Q and A session with Mr Jarratt and Mr O'Dwyer.
The movie has been screened across the country with nothing but positive reviews he said, and wanted to show that people with Down Syndrome were "very important members of society".
Tickets are $15.50 for adults, $13.50 for concession holders, and $50 for two adults and two children.
They can be bought through empirecinema.com.au.
What about Sal will be screened at the cinema from that debut, until May 22.