Video Description
The ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles logo appears on the screen. Background music with a lively tempo plays through the entirety of the video. Text in black reads: “May 4-5, 2024. California Plaza. ReelAbilitiesLA.org.” Logos for the City of Los Angeles, Department on Disability, and Grand Performances are overlaid on a purple illustration of the Los Angeles skyline. The video shows one-second clips of the Feature film trailers in the following order: “Is There Anybody Out There?” “Unidentified Objects” “Being Michelle” “Forget Me Not” “Shadow”. The video proceeds to show one-second clips of the Short film trailers in the following order: “My Disability Roadmap” “Imagined Touch” “Act of God” “Coming Out Autistic” “Culicidae” “Danceable” “Flirting (with Possibilities)”. Clips from the films being screened during the Family Fun Day portion of the event are shown, including Pixar’s “Loop” and Disney’s “Wish”. A slide with two videos side-by-side is shown. On the left, young people are dancing on a grassy field, twirling dance ribbons around. On the right, a clip of the opening night at the festival is shown, looking down onto the stage, screen, and panelists. Next, a clip of people on stage sitting and talking into microphones during a Q&A session is shown. A purple title card with the ReelAbilities logo in white appears on the screen. White text on a purple background pops up and reads: “Resource Booths hosted by Community Partners”, “Panel Discussions”, “Q&A’s”, “Easterseals Disability Film Challenge Announcement of Finalists”, “Accessible Venue”, “Open Captions”, “Audio Description”, “American Sign Language”, “Community Resource Booths”, “Music & Dancing”. The beginning title card reappears on the screen and the video ends.
Film Schedule – Saturday, May 4, 2024
Day 1 Events
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Short Films
Imagined Touch
Directed by Sofya Gollan & Jodee Mundy Oam
Australia | Runtime 33 minutes | 2021 | English | Documentary, Theater
When two DeafBlind women ask a theater director to help them make a show about being deaf and blind, never in their wildest dreams did they imagine it would become an award-winning show.
Act of God
Directed by Spencer Cook & Parker Smith
United States | Runtime 22 minutes | 2022 | English | Comedy
Stuart’s life is a mess. His caregivers are abandoning him and for good reason: he’s a jerk, a fact that becomes quickly apparent to the new guy tasked with getting him out of bed. Stuart’s commute to work is interrupted by the discovery of a $100 bill lying on the sidewalk, leading him on a chase that forces him to reconsider his toxic ideal of self sufficiency.
Coming Out Autistic
Directed by Steven Fraser
United Kingdom | Runtime 4 minutes | 2022 | English | Animated, Documentary
Queer coming out stories are well documented, while telling friends, family, co-workers, and strangers that you are autistic is shown less often. But what is the experience of telling the world that you are autistic when you also identify as LGBTQ+?
Culicidae
Directed by Greg Moran
Australia | Runtime 7 minutes | 2021 | English | Comedy
A late night intrusion leads to a life and death struggle.
Danceable
Directed by Kelsey McGee
United States | Runtime 23 minutes | 2022 | American Sign Language & English | Documentary
Three dancers with disabilities find freedom through movement.
Flirting with Possibilities
Directed by Garrett Zuercher
United States | Runtime 18 minutes | 2021 | English | Romance, Comedy
Through trial and error, Harley, a deaf man, is determined to figure out the most effective way to flirt with the cute hearing guy he sees in the coffee shop. A glimpse of how it feels to communicate primarily via American Sign Language in a predominantly hearing, speaking, and English-using world.
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Being Michelle
Directed by Atin Mehra
United States | Runtime 72 minutes | 2022 | American Sign Language & English | Documentary
The astonishing story of a woman who survived incarceration in a system that refused to accommodate her needs as a deaf person with autism. Michelle’s trajectory changed when she met Kim Law, a blind life coach who teaches in the prison. A story of redemption, this award-winning film is about the bonds between two women committed to thriving in a broken system and forging a path to healing.
Q & A
4:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Unidentified Objects
Directed by Juan Felipe Zuleta
United States | Runtime 84 minutes | 2022 | English | Comedy, Science Fiction
Peter is an intellectual outsider with an edge. He lives as a loner, until an unexpected visit from his upbeat—and possibly unhinged—neighbor Winona forces him out of his shell and on an impromptu road trip to rural Canada. As they journey into the wilderness, the odyssey turns into a search for their place in the universe.
Panel Discussion
Removing Barriers, Tropes, and Stigmas:
Discussing the Steps to Build an Inclusive Future in Film
Is There Anybody Out There?
Directed by Ella Glendining
United Kingdom | Runtime 87 minutes | 2023 | English | Documentary
While navigating daily discrimination, a filmmaker who loves her unusual body searches the world for another person like her and explores what it takes to love oneself fiercely despite society’s misconceptions.
Film Schedule – Sunday, May 5, 2024
Day 2 Events
11:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Get ready for a day of fun, education, and excitement with ReelAbilities Los Angeles and proud sponsors! Join us for outdoor movies, music, and dancing, arts and crafts, and more. This event is free and all ages are welcome.
Loop
Pixar SparkShorts | Runtime 12 minutes | 2019 | Family, Animation | PG
In “Loop,” two kids at canoe camp find themselves adrift on a lake, unable to move forward until they find a new way to connect and see the world through each other’s eyes. This film breaks new ground by featuring Pixar’s first non-verbal autistic character.
Wish
Disney | Runtime 86 minutes | 2023 | Family, Fantasy, Animation | PG
“Wish” is an animated film welcoming audiences to the kingdom of Rosas, where Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force. Together, Asha and Star confront a formidable foe—the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico—to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.
2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Easterseals Disability Film Challenge 2024 Announcement of Finalists
My Disability Roadmap
Directed by Samuel Habib & Dan Habib
United States | Runtime 22 minutes | 2022 | English | Documentary
Samuel Habib, 21, wants to date, leave home, go to college. But he drives a 350-pound wheelchair, uses a communication device, and could have a seizure at any moment. Determined to find his path forward, he seeks out guidance from America’s most rebellious disability activists. Will they empower him to launch the bold adult life he craves?
Forget Me Not
Directed by Olivier Bernier
United States | Runtime 86 minutes | 2021 | English | Documentary
As 3-year-old Emilio prepares to start school, his family finds itself embroiled in a challenge all too common for children with disabilities – to secure the right to an inclusive education. Cornered in one of the most segregated education systems, New York City public schools, filmmaker Olivier and his wife Hilda turn the camera on themselves and their child with Down syndrome, as they navigate a byzantine system originally designed to silo children with disabilities.
Q & A
Shadow
Directed by Bruce Gladwin
Australia | Runtime 57 minutes | 2021 | English | Drama
Simon, Scott, and Sarah—a trio of activists with intellectual disabilities—hold a town hall meeting, desperate to save the world from the future impacts of Artificial Intelligence. What begins as a polite discussion quickly descends into bickering and chaos, and as the meeting unravels, they discover the greatest threat to their future is already in the room.
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