In its annual campaign for World Down Syndrome Day (March 21), CoorDown calls for more privacy for people with Down syndrome in their romantic and sexual relationships. 

The beautiful new film from the organization depicts a couple with Down syndrome accompanied everywhere, from dates to the bedroom, by their caring friends and families. Set to a cover of the song "Just The Two Of Us" by Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers, it shows various over-the-top scenarios in which the two can't go anywhere alone. Underscoring the point further, the friends and family of each are also dressed identically to the person they are looking out for. In the final scene, the couple ejects the hangers-on from the bedroom, and the film ends with the tagline "Love needs space."

The spot was created out of New York agency Small. Martin Romanella and Augusto Gimenez Zapiola directed the film via Indiana Production, and Marcello Dapporto served as cinematographer. The stars of the film are real-life Dutch couple Kenya Koene and Liam de Waele, age 20 and 21, who met on the set of a web series.

The effort aims to address the fact that allowing people with Down syndrome their privacy can be a difficult balancing act for parents and carers as they weigh over-protectiveness and support with wanting their loved ones to live life to the fullest. The campaign also includes print ads and a website, www.justthetwoofus.org, which provides information and resources on the topic of sexuality of people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities.

“Undoubtedly sexuality is a thorny issue, shrouded in taboos that have deep cultural roots, but it is also a topic that we, as representatives of people with Down syndrome, wanted to address because it is not only the recognition of a right, but also the recognition of a need,” said Antonella Falugiani, president of CoorDown, in a statement. “People with Down syndrome are neither ‘asexual angels,’ nor are they ‘demons’ who cannot control their urges."

The film was created by Luca Lorenzini and Luca Pannese, executive creative directors at Small, who have worked with CoorDown for ten years, including on last year’s award-winning spot “The Hiring Chain,” which called for employers to hire people with Down syndrome.

“With this campaign, we are addressing a theme that most likely never in our wildest dreams would we have imagined touching on ten years ago,” said the pair in a statement. “We think this is a great sign, because clearly over the years we have been able to push the boundaries of topics that can be broached, opening up more and more opportunities for people with Down syndrome.“