REELABILITIES LOS ANGELES
ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL 2020
OCTOBER 16-18, 2020
This event has concluded. Thank you for attending the ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2020. Even with the unique challenges we are all facing this year, your participation made this ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles the most successful to date and that is thanks to each of you. We hope we have made this year’s festival memorable for you!
ReelAbilities Film Festival: Los Angeles 2020 is a three-day online festival that showcases new and classic films, conversations, and artistic programs, and that explores, embraces, and celebrates the diversity of our shared human experience. All films are presented with full audio description and closed captioning. We will work together with the public (irrespective of ability) to gain a greater appreciation of quality film across abilities. Please note: Films are blocked for United States only. Live Q&A Sessions and Panel Discussions are open to all. Be sure to check back often for further updates! Thank you!
Film Schedule – Friday, October 16, 2020
Day 1 Events
6:00 PM
Opening Remarks (YouTube Recording)
7:00 PM
Give Me Liberty
Director and Producer: Kiril Mikhanovsky
USA | 2019 | 110 minutes | English/Russian
Featuring very special guests!
In this freewheeling comedy, medical transport driver Vic risks his job to shuttle a group of rowdy seniors and a Russian boxer to a funeral, dragging clients like Tracy, a young woman with ALS, along for the ride.
9:00 PM
Film Schedule – Saturday, October 17, 2020
Day 2 Events
11:00 AM – 12:45 PM
Narrative Shorts
6 Films
This series highlights a selection of disability films from around the world. Access the Narrative Shorts Q&A YouTube Recording.
THE MAN OF THE TREES
Directed by Andrew Trivero
Italy | 2018 | 19 minutes | French
The life story of Daniel Balimá, a horticulturist with a disability in Burkina Faso.
BUBE MAISES
Directed by Or Levy
Israel | 2019 | 6 minutes | Hebrew
A daughter uses postcards to re-create past moments for her mother, who is living with dementia.
BOLDLY GO
Directed by Christopher Cosgrove
Australia | 2019 | 6 minutes | English
A young gay man is hiding a secret. When a long-term crush tries to seduce him at a party, he is forced to expose the truth.
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE
Directed by Steven Fraser
UK | 2018 | 3 minutes | English
This flipbook-style animation demonstrates the emotions of people who hear voices.
ANGEL’S MIRROR
Directed by Cheng Chao
China | 2018 | 14 minutes | Chinese
A group of young boys are fascinated by a girl who spends her days looking out the window.
REVEL IN YOUR BODY
Directed by Katherine Helen Fisher
USA | 2018 | 6 minutes | No Dialogue
Experience the joy of flight with Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson.
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
PANEL DISCUSSION
Access Mommy, Why Does That Man Not Have Legs? Panel Discussion YouTube Recording
Talking to Children About Disability and How Disability is Represented in Children’s Films
Panelists:
Linda Bove
Dean DeBlois
Selene Luna
Ori Zadok
Moderator:
3:00 PM
BEDLAM
Directed by Kenneth Paul Rosenberg
USA | 2019 | 86 minutes | English | Feature Film
Through intimate stories of patients, families, and medical providers, Bedlam immerses audiences in the national crisis surrounding the need for better care of people with mental illness, and demands this critical situation be viewed through an intersectional lens.
Access the Bedlam Q&A YouTube Recording.
5:30 PM
25 PROSPECT STREET
Directed by Kaveh Taherian and Andrew Richey
USA | 2018 | 100 minutes | English | Feature Film
A look at the sparkle and struggles of the Prospector Theater—a nonprofit movie theater in Connecticut with a mission of meaningful employment for people with disabilities.
Access the 25 Prospect Street Q&A YouTube Recording.
8:15 PM
CODE OF THE FREAKS
Directed by Salome Chasnoff
USA | 2020 | 68 minutes | English | Feature Film
Taking its title from Tod Browning’s classic film, this radical reframing of how characters with disabilities are represented looks at a century of Hollywood favorites with a fresh perspective. Disability activists imagine a cinematic landscape that takes people with disabilities seriously.
Access the Code of the Freaks Q&A YouTube Recording.
Film Schedule – Sunday, October 18, 2020
Day 3 Events
11:00 – 12:30 PM
EASTER SEALS DISABILITY FILM CHALLENGE HOME EDITION
This year’s competitors made documentaries at home, making COVID-19 and its fallout an implicit part of each film. The discussion will focus on the films and filmmakers, but also how the disability community has dealt with quarantine through art. Access Easterseals’ Q&A YouTube Recording.
Best Film: The Fish Don’t Care When it Rains
Directed by Jennifer Msumba
USA | 2020 | 4:50 minutes | English
With humor and heart, autistic artist Jen Msumba demonstrates what the simple life of a fish can teach us about accepting our circumstances.
Jennifer is a musician and filmmaker who loves creating and telling the stories of her small community in Wauchula, Florida. Although having autism has made a lot of things harder in her life, she believes it makes her look at things in a unique way. She has fallen in love with writing and crafting films so that the audience is moved or entertained.
Best Editor: Autism Ability
Directed by Scott Michael Klumb
USA | 2020 | 3:19 minutes | English
Autism Ability” displays the positive ways that autism has impacted my life. Documentary filmmaking is one of those positive impacts that gives me the opportunity to highlight my disability, as well as highlighting my abilities as a filmmaker. This project portrays the behind the scenes impact that autism has on my filming and filming has on my life.
Scott Klumb is a filmmaker based in Boulder, Colorado. Largely self taught, Scott is best known for his action sports videos, particularly within the ski industry. Diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum at age 23, Scott honed his intense interest in film and film editing into a recognizable talent. Scott particularly enjoys time-lapse photography and editing to music to create artistic film experiences for his audience. Scott plans to create future documentaries on a variety of subjects related to autism with the hopes of creating greater awareness, acceptance, and inclusion of the autistic community.
Best Awareness: How Much Am I Worth?
Directed by Rachel Handler
USA | 2020 | 5:58 minutes | English
This stirring documentary explores the failings of the U.S. health system through the lens of four women with disabilities.
Rachel Handler is an actor and filmmaker based in NYC. Most recently she won the AT&T Underrepresented Filmmaker Award for her short, “Committed” and the Sundance Co//ab June Monthly Challenge for her script “The A Doesn’t Stand for Accessible.” Since joining the disabled community she’s found a passion for writing, producing and directing; advocating for inclusion in every project she creates. Her writing credits include the award-winning short films, “The Housewarming,” “Committed,” “The Vanished,” and “Authentically Me” which won the Reelabilities 27 Second Film Competition and screened in taxi cabs throughout NYC. Handler’s TV acting credits include Law & Order: SVU, Goliath, New Amsterdam, Bull and NCIS: New Orleans. Some of her favorite stage credits include Marian in The Music Man, Lady Anne in Richard III and Maria in The Sound of Music.
1:00 – 4:00 PM
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS – 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Directed by Tim Burton
USA | 1990 | 1:44:59 minutes | English
4:30 – 8:00 PM
A PATCH OF BLUE – 55TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING
Directed by Guy Green
USA | 1965 | 1:45:13 minutes | English
Elizabeth Hartman (“The Fixer”) is a warm-hearted impoverished blind girl who falls in love with a black man and refuses to make an issue of their racial differences. Poignant and touching Oscar-nominated romantic drama co-stars Oscar-winner Sidney Poitier (“In the Heat of the Night,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”). Hartman received an Oscar-nomination and co-star Shelly Winters (“The Poseidon Adventure,” “Lolita”) won for Best Supporting Actress.
6:30 PM
PANEL DISCUSSION
Black Disabled Lives Matter:
Intersectionality Between Movements and Lessons to be Learned
Panelists:
Sharon Barnartt
Anita Cameron
Keith Jones
Tatiana Lee
Moderator:
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