Banner. Thank you from ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles.

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

Jodee Mundy Collaborations presents Imagined Touch. When touch becomes your vision of the world. ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel. Two women holding each other's hands. One has blonde straight hair and is wearing an orange top. The other has dirty blonde curly hair wearing a black top.

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

Text reads Act of God directed by Spencer Cook and Parker Smith. Official Selection ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel. A group of people on their bikes in the dark with their bike lights turned on. The front man is on a power wheel chair.

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

Text reads Coming Out Autistic. Created by Steven Fraser. Featuring interviews with LGBTQIA+ people and how they tell others that they are autistic. ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel. Illustratution of a person breaking loose from the mask they were hiding in which made them miserable.

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

Left Field Productions presents Culicidae. A short nightmare by Greg Moran. ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel. A wrinkled face zoomed in to only show the eyes.

Directed by Greg Moran

Australia | Runtime 7 minutes | 2021 | English | Comedy

A late night intrusion leads to a life and death struggle.

Danceable

ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel. Text reads Danceable. The University of Southern California presents "Danceable". Directed by Kelsey McGee. Three dancers with disabilities. One is in a wheelchair with one hand on their head. One is sitting in a split and the other is standing up with one of their arms up in the air.

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

Garrett Zuercher, Jason Tam, Tom Berklund, Jared Johnston, and Andrew Keenan-Bolger. A film by Garrett Zuercher, Flirting (With Possibilities) ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel. Illustration of two men walking in a building with brick walls and high caged windows showing a chandelier inside.

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

Being Michelle. Voices unseen. Justice silenced. Love abounds. ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel in center of image. A person with glasses, short brown hair, and a purple top holding a self portrait to their face with a police car in the back of the person. 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?

ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel under text that reads ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ and a full body photo of Director Ella Glendining.
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

You’re invited to Family Fun Day at ReelAbilities LA on May 5th! Bring the whole family down to California Plaza from 11AM to 3PM for an exciting event for all ages.

Get ready for:

Face painting by Create.A.Dot Studio, personalized sketches by CreateLine, Pizza Hut treats, awesome dancing and music by Straight Up Abilities, bubbles, and more.
Plus, meet adorable LAX PUP service dogs and explore resource booths by our community partners.
Our special guest and emcee, Jennifer Kumiyama, will add extra sparkle to the day. Jennifer stars in Disney’s Wish, and we’ll be screening it too!

Loop

Two kids in a canoe, gliding on calm water surrounded by lush greenery. Movie title “Loop” is overlaid.

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

Movie poster for Disney’s animated film 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 – 5:30 PM

Easterseals Disability Film Challenge 2024 Announcement of Finalists

We’re excited to partner with Nic Novicki and the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge to announce this year’s finalists live on Sunday, May 5th at 3 PM PT!

This portion of the ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles has been made possible by SAG-AFTRA.

5:30 PM – 9:00 PM

My Disability Roadmap

"My Disability Roadmap". Co-directed by Samueal Habib and Dan Habib. ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel. A girl in a long pink dress with a boy in a pink suit who is sitting in a power wheel chair. Behind them is a crowd surrounded by red velvet ropes.

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

Forget Me Not. ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel. A little boy is being helped in writing the ABCs.

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.

Shadow

Shadow. There Is Nowhere Darker Than the Future. ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2024 Official Selection Laurel. Silhouettes of three people facing a black backdrop.

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.