A BLIND HERO: THE LOVE OF OTTO WEIDT, Kai Christensen[/caption]
The official line-up is revealed for the 2016 ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival taking place in a record number of venues across New York from March 10 to 16,2016.
The festival will include its largest slate of films featuring U.S. and New York premieres of acclaimed movies from around the world. The festival will kick off with a special Opening Night Gala with the New York premiere of the light-hearted, award-winning film Margarita with a Straw. The film is based on a true story of a young Indian woman with Cerebral Palsy who moves to NY to attend NYU and is exposed to a new world. This edgy yet joyful film captures the spirit of ReelAbilities as an accessible story that presents people with disabilities in an engaging and fresh manner.
Started by JCC Manhattan in 2007, ReelAbilities is the largest festival in the country dedicated to presenting award-winning films made by and about people with different disabilities – physical, developmental and psychological.
The full film lineup for JCC Manhattan’s 8th Annual ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival is as follows:
FEATURES
2E: TWICE EXCEPTIONAL
Dir. Thomas Ropelewsky (54 min, USA, Documentary)
An honest, up-close look at what it’s like to be – or to be the parent or teacher of — a gifted young person coming to terms with a learning difference. This documentary follows the personal journeys of a group of high school students who have been identified as “twice exceptional” – gifted or highly gifted individuals with learning disabilities or differences. Featuring thought-provoking interviews with students, parents, teachers, psychologists and therapists, 2e: Twice Exceptional is essential viewing for anyone interested in understanding where our next generation of “outliers” — geniuses, mavericks, and dreamers — may come from.
Short blurb: An honest, up-close look at a group of high school students identified as “twice exceptional”—highly gifted individuals with learning disabilities or differences. 2E indicates where our next generation of “outliers”—geniuses, mavericks, and dreamers—may come from and what it’s like to be their parent or teacher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFenn8BFExM
A BLIND HERO: THE LOVE OF OTTO WEIDT
Dir. Kai Christensen (89 min, Germany, Narrative)
The heroic story of unsung hero Otto Weidt, who saved dozens of Jews from the Nazi death camps. Owner of a Berlin brush and broom factory, Otto Weidt uses his skills to outwit the Nazis and protect his staff, most of whom are Jewish and blind. When his secretary is deported to Auschwitz, Weidt, nearly blind himself, embarks on a journey to free her. A gripping true story of a courageous man, A Blind Hero relies almost exclusively on eyewitness accounts and the memories of those whom Weidt saved.
Short blurb: The story of the heroic Otto Weidt, who saved dozens of Jews from the Nazi death camps. Weidt, a broom factory owner, cunningly outwits the Nazis to protect his staff, most of whom are Jewish and blind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgQ2uZNhV10
DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR?
Dir. Abigail Fuller & Sarah Ivy (76 min, USA, Documentary)
The poignant coming of age story of Connor, Nick, Sarah and Carina, who navigate the growing pains of high school, but, unlike most teens, they face another challenge – they are blind. Do You Dream in Color? captures their journeys as they strive to achieve their goals: to be a sponsored skateboarder, to travel the world, to become a rock star and to be the first in one’s family to graduate high school. Through their personal stories we learn of the experience of being blind and how these fearless teenagers navigate through it.
Short blurb: Four teens who are blind navigate high school and strive to achieve their goals: to be a sponsored skateboarder, to travel the world, to become a rock star, and to be the first in one’s family to graduate high school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEpw9AEbHYI
ENTER THE FAUN
Dir. Tamar Rogoff & Daisy Wright (67 min, USA, Documentary)
The unlikely collaboration between a veteran choreographer and a young actor with cerebral palsy delivers astonishing proof that each and every body is capable of miraculous transformation. As Tamar Rogoff trains Gregg Mozgala to dance in her performance, they discover that her lack of formal medical training and his fears and physical limitations are the impetus for her choreography and their unprecedented discoveries. Enter The Faun is the story of a joyous, obsessed journey towards opening night. It challenges the boundaries of medicine and art, as well as the limitations associated with disability.
Short blurb: As a veteran choreographer trains a young actor with cerebral palsy to dance in her performance, they discover that her lack of formal medical training and his fears and physical limitations provide the impetus for unprecedented transformation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg4CjqnyY3k
GABE
Dir. Luke Terrell (72 min, USA, Documentary)
Gabe Weil is a 27 year old born with the most severe form of muscular dystrophy. For his entire life, Gabe had been told he would be lucky to live past 25. But recently, he learned he was misdiagnosed, and may live well into his 50’s. Although this news was overwhelmingly positive, it presented a surprising obstacle. Gabe did not have any long-term goals. He was forced to rethink his life from scratch. This radical shift in consciousness propelled him to set new goals, continue facing reality, and manifest more dreams.
Short Blurb: Gabe was born with muscular dystrophy. For his entire life, he was told he would be lucky to live past 25. Upon learning he was misdiagnosed and could live well into his 50s, Gabe is forced to rethink his life from scratch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0DZ8cFC9UM
HAPPY 40TH
Dir. Madoka Raine (100 min, USA, Narrative)
This beautifully acted ensemble film features four women coming together to celebrate the birthday of a friend, who has remained a recluse ever since a car accident with her husband left her in a wheelchair . Over the course of the weekend, much wine is consumed, intimacies are shared, and an unthinkable betrayal forces the group of friends and lovers to re-evaluate long-held beliefs and assumptions. Happy 40th pokes and prods at fragile relationships to reveal uncomfortable truths about the secrets we keep from each other and from ourselves.
Short blurb: Four women celebrate a friend’s birthday for the first time since a car accident left her in a wheelchair. Over the course of a weekend, intimacies are shared and an unthinkable betrayal forces the group of friends and lovers to re-evaluate long-held assumptions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqr25l7O52Y
IN HARMONY
Dir. Denis Dercourt (90 min., France, Narrative)
Marc is an equestrian stuntman. After a serious accident which traumatically injures him, he loses all hope of ever getting back on a horse. Florence works for an insurance company and is in charge of Marc’s case. Although they have nothing in common, Marc and Florence’s brief interaction will impact them in more ways than they can imagine. In Harmony is a poignant and inspiring story about the passion of a man for his horse, and his nearly impossible return to happiness after a dramatic fall. Set in the breathtaking landscape of Brittany and featuring impeccable acting throughout, the film is a vibrant life lesson.
Short blurb: After a serious riding accident, Marc loses all hope of ever getting back on a horse. Florence, who works for an insurance company, is placed in charge of his case. Their brief interaction will impact them in more ways than they can imagine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUGTwhKZBRQ
MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW
Dir. Shonali Bose & Nilesh Maniyar (97 min, India, Narrative)
A funky, stereotype-busting coming-of-age tale about a Punjabi teenage girl with cerebral palsy, based on a true story. Laila, an aspiring writer and secret rebel in a wheelchair, is accepted to New York University and leaves India for Manhattan. After a chance encounter with a fiery female activist, Laila starts to grow emotionally and explore this new world and its liberal sexualities. Tackling subject matter rarely explored with lightheartedness, this TIFF award-winning drama is a beautiful, bold and brave portrait of love, identity and sexuality. Margarita, With a Straw is joyous cinema bound to win your heart.
Short blurb: A funky, joyous, coming-of-age tale. Laila, a Punjabi girl with cerebral palsy, is an aspiring writer who leaves India for a coveted spot at New York University, where she is exposed to and explores a new world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od7_rZSU9S8
PATRICK’S DAY
Dir. Terry McMahon (98 min, Ireland, Narrative)
Patrick is a warm young man living with schizophrenia. Medication and his mother’s fierce protection means he is no threat to himself or anyone else — until St. Patrick’s Day, when he meets Karen, a suicidal flight attendant who has no idea the intimacy she shares with Patrick might reintroduce her to life. This audacious love story provocatively explores issues ranging from the right to intimacy to the question of when parental love becomes a destructive force.
Short blurb: An audacious and provocative love story. Patrick is a warm young man living with schizophrenia. His mother’s fierce protection means he is no threat to himself or anyone else — until St. Patrick’s Day, when he falls in love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS43DO_z2is
STILTS AND SPOKES
Dir. Jack Winch (91 min, USA, Documentary)
A heart-felt, entertaining and comedic documentary. After Jay Cramer falls off a rock boulder climbing and breaks his neck, he rebounds from injury – which has left him quadriplegic — to win the Los Angeles Funniest Comic competition. While in rehab, he meets a world class double above-the-knee amputee sprinter, Katy Sullivan, and falls head over heels for her. Both fall in love and go on to inspire millions.
Short blurb: After falling off a boulder while climbing and breaking his neck, Jay Cramer rebounds from injury to win the Los Angeles Funniest Comic competition. While in rehab, he meets and falls in love with Katy Sullivan, a world-class double above-the-knee amputee sprinter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMLGy8BjrtY
THAT WHICH IS POSSIBLE
Dir. Michael Gitlin (84 min, USA, Documentary)
A community of painters, sculptors, musicians and writers make work at the Living Museum, an art-space on the grounds of a large state-run psychiatric facility in Queens. Shot over the course of two years and structured across the arc of a day, the film observes with an intimate lens and unspools like a musical, both bracing and tender. It explores the liberation and healing that creativity can offer those drawn together by shared struggle. It points to a more humane and holistic approach to mental illness, and to the joy of transforming society itself.
Short blurb: A community of painters, sculptors, musicians, and writers create works at the Living Museum, an art space on the grounds of a large state-run psychiatric facility in Queens. That Which Is Possible explores creativity as a more humane and holistic approach to mental illness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW7vr9MLlcA
TRUE SMILE
Dir. Juan Rayos (82 min, Spain, Documentary)
An astonishing journey seen through the eyes of 26-year-old Sergio Aznárez Rosado, who was born both blind and autistic who lives a life packed with adventure. Over the course of 30 days, Sergio embarks on a 1,300-kilometer tandem bike ride with his brother, Juan Manuel, who pilots the bicycle. Together, they traverse desert and high mountains, starting in Cuenca in central Spain and finishing in one of the most remote villages in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. This documentary immerses us in Sergio’s seemingly unreachable world, helping us to perceive the world through his eyes.
Short blurb: An astonishing journey of two brothers—Sergio, who is blind and has autism, and his brother, Juan—who embark on a 1,300-kilometer tandem bike ride from Spain to Morocco.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AINsuaM7gHU
THE VOICE OF THE VOICELESS
Dir. Maximon Monihan (109 min, USA, Narrative)
A radically different vision of filmmaking. This silent film follows Olga, a teenager with hearing impairment who is lured from Central America to New York City under the false promise of attending a Christian sign language school. Once she arrives, Olga finds herself a slave to an international criminal syndicate. Forced to sell “I am deaf” trinkets on the subway, Olga is trapped inside a nightmare that will not end – and we, the audience, are trapped with her. Based on a true story, The Voice of the Voiceless shatters our ideas about film, storytelling, and sound.
Short blurb: Olga, along with others from Mexico and Guatemala, is brought to New York under the false promise of being offered a scholarship at a sign language school. Upon arrival, they discover they are being held hostage by a cartel, and are forced to sell paper towels on the New York City Subway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leAPsqibj4o
SHORT FILMS:
A GRAND PURSUIT
Dir. Will Strathmann
2015, 23 min, USA, Documentary
Vasu Sojitra is the first leg amputee to attempt climbing the Grand Teton mountains without using a prosthetic leg.
BIRTHDAY
Dir. Chris King
2015, 16 min, USA, Narrative
A severely wounded Marine returns home to his wife after months of surgery and rehabilitation.
BUMBLEBEES
Dir. Jenna Kanell
2015, 4 min, USA, Narrative
Despite being told as a child he would never walk or speak, Vance accomplished the impossible. But now he has a new challenge: dating.
CHIMES FOR TYLER
Dir. Stephen Panaggio
2014, 8 min, USA, Documentary
A boy with autism can distinguish wind chimes by sound.
GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN
Dir. Diego Robles
2012, 12 min, USA, Narrative
A blind veteran changes his outlook on life after meeting a young girl.
GOOD BEER
Dir. Tony Borden
2015, 7 min, USA, Narrative
Shannon and David meet online and go on a revealing first date.
I DON’T CARE
Dir. Caroline Giammetta
2014, 14 min, UK, Narrative
A mother-to-be faces the possibility of having a child with Down syndrome.
JESSE
Dir. Adam Goldhammer
2013, 14 min, Canada, Narrative
After her parents are killed, 22-year-old Kelly is the sole caregiver for her older brother Jesse who has autism.
LITTLE HERO
Dir. Marcus A. McDougald & Jennifer Medvin
2015, 10 min, USA, Documentary
A 6-year-old boy with autism is seen through his twin sister’s eyes.
MACROPOLIS
Dir. Joel Simon
2012, 7 min, UK, Narrative
Two toys made at a factory are thrown out, and together attempt to be put on a store shelf.
MARINA’S OCEAN
Dir. Cássio Pereira dos Santos
2014, 16 min, Brazil, Narrative
A teen with Down syndrome visits the sea for the first time.
THE MOBILE STRIPPER
Dir. Shirlyn Wong
2014, 14 min, USA, Narrative
What begins as a ride to the gas station by a man with Parkinson’s develops into an unforeseen adventure.
PERFECT
Dir. Karim Ayari
2013, 12 min, USA, Narrative
Julius meets with his psychologist after what he considered to be a disastrous first date due to his involuntary tics.
SOLILOQUY
Dir. Heidi Latsky
2015, 14 min, USA, Documentary
An illuminating and moving close-up of a diverse group of performers of Heidi Latsky Dance.
STILL RUNNING
Dir. Wayne de Lange & Sven Harding
2014, 5 min, USA, Documentary
Following a cycling accident which left him paralysed, Pieter du Preez becomes the first ever C6 quadriplegic to complete an Iron Man triathlon.
STRINGS
Dir. Pedro Solís García
2013, 11 min, Spain, Narrative
María’s routine at school is altered by the arrival of a child who soon becomes her best friend.
SUPER SOUNDS
Dir. Stephen de Villiers
2014, 12 min, USA, Documentary
A serendipitous encounter between a young girl and a boy with superhero aspirations.
TAKE ME
Dir. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette & André Turpin
2014, 10 min, Canada, Narrative
A nurse confronts his principles when he’s asked to aid two patients in assisted sex.
THE TALES OF THE GOLDEN SAND
Dir. Fred & Samuel Guillaume
2015, 23 min, France, Narrative
The mythical tale of the sweet town of Merryville, where an unexpected intruder disrupts the daily calm.
WELCOME TO THE LAST BOOKSTORE
Dir. Chad Howitt
2015, 11 min, USA, Documentary
A day in the life of a bookstore owner—a father, husband, small business owner, and paraplegic—showing the store’s magnetic appeal to the community.Enter The Faun
-
Complete Lineup Revealed for 2016 ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival | TRAILERS
[caption id="attachment_11895" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] A BLIND HERO: THE LOVE OF OTTO WEIDT, Kai Christensen[/caption]
The official line-up is revealed for the 2016 ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival taking place in a record number of venues across New York from March 10 to 16,2016.
The festival will include its largest slate of films featuring U.S. and New York premieres of acclaimed movies from around the world. The festival will kick off with a special Opening Night Gala with the New York premiere of the light-hearted, award-winning film Margarita with a Straw. The film is based on a true story of a young Indian woman with Cerebral Palsy who moves to NY to attend NYU and is exposed to a new world. This edgy yet joyful film captures the spirit of ReelAbilities as an accessible story that presents people with disabilities in an engaging and fresh manner.
Started by JCC Manhattan in 2007, ReelAbilities is the largest festival in the country dedicated to presenting award-winning films made by and about people with different disabilities – physical, developmental and psychological.
The full film lineup for JCC Manhattan’s 8th Annual ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival is as follows:
FEATURES
2E: TWICE EXCEPTIONAL
Dir. Thomas Ropelewsky (54 min, USA, Documentary)
An honest, up-close look at what it’s like to be – or to be the parent or teacher of — a gifted young person coming to terms with a learning difference. This documentary follows the personal journeys of a group of high school students who have been identified as “twice exceptional” – gifted or highly gifted individuals with learning disabilities or differences. Featuring thought-provoking interviews with students, parents, teachers, psychologists and therapists, 2e: Twice Exceptional is essential viewing for anyone interested in understanding where our next generation of “outliers” — geniuses, mavericks, and dreamers — may come from.
Short blurb: An honest, up-close look at a group of high school students identified as “twice exceptional”—highly gifted individuals with learning disabilities or differences. 2E indicates where our next generation of “outliers”—geniuses, mavericks, and dreamers—may come from and what it’s like to be their parent or teacher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFenn8BFExM
A BLIND HERO: THE LOVE OF OTTO WEIDT
Dir. Kai Christensen (89 min, Germany, Narrative)
The heroic story of unsung hero Otto Weidt, who saved dozens of Jews from the Nazi death camps. Owner of a Berlin brush and broom factory, Otto Weidt uses his skills to outwit the Nazis and protect his staff, most of whom are Jewish and blind. When his secretary is deported to Auschwitz, Weidt, nearly blind himself, embarks on a journey to free her. A gripping true story of a courageous man, A Blind Hero relies almost exclusively on eyewitness accounts and the memories of those whom Weidt saved.
Short blurb: The story of the heroic Otto Weidt, who saved dozens of Jews from the Nazi death camps. Weidt, a broom factory owner, cunningly outwits the Nazis to protect his staff, most of whom are Jewish and blind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgQ2uZNhV10
DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR?
Dir. Abigail Fuller & Sarah Ivy (76 min, USA, Documentary)
The poignant coming of age story of Connor, Nick, Sarah and Carina, who navigate the growing pains of high school, but, unlike most teens, they face another challenge – they are blind. Do You Dream in Color? captures their journeys as they strive to achieve their goals: to be a sponsored skateboarder, to travel the world, to become a rock star and to be the first in one’s family to graduate high school. Through their personal stories we learn of the experience of being blind and how these fearless teenagers navigate through it.
Short blurb: Four teens who are blind navigate high school and strive to achieve their goals: to be a sponsored skateboarder, to travel the world, to become a rock star, and to be the first in one’s family to graduate high school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEpw9AEbHYI
ENTER THE FAUN
Dir. Tamar Rogoff & Daisy Wright (67 min, USA, Documentary)
The unlikely collaboration between a veteran choreographer and a young actor with cerebral palsy delivers astonishing proof that each and every body is capable of miraculous transformation. As Tamar Rogoff trains Gregg Mozgala to dance in her performance, they discover that her lack of formal medical training and his fears and physical limitations are the impetus for her choreography and their unprecedented discoveries. Enter The Faun is the story of a joyous, obsessed journey towards opening night. It challenges the boundaries of medicine and art, as well as the limitations associated with disability.
Short blurb: As a veteran choreographer trains a young actor with cerebral palsy to dance in her performance, they discover that her lack of formal medical training and his fears and physical limitations provide the impetus for unprecedented transformation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg4CjqnyY3k
GABE
Dir. Luke Terrell (72 min, USA, Documentary)
Gabe Weil is a 27 year old born with the most severe form of muscular dystrophy. For his entire life, Gabe had been told he would be lucky to live past 25. But recently, he learned he was misdiagnosed, and may live well into his 50’s. Although this news was overwhelmingly positive, it presented a surprising obstacle. Gabe did not have any long-term goals. He was forced to rethink his life from scratch. This radical shift in consciousness propelled him to set new goals, continue facing reality, and manifest more dreams.
Short Blurb: Gabe was born with muscular dystrophy. For his entire life, he was told he would be lucky to live past 25. Upon learning he was misdiagnosed and could live well into his 50s, Gabe is forced to rethink his life from scratch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0DZ8cFC9UM
HAPPY 40TH
Dir. Madoka Raine (100 min, USA, Narrative)
This beautifully acted ensemble film features four women coming together to celebrate the birthday of a friend, who has remained a recluse ever since a car accident with her husband left her in a wheelchair . Over the course of the weekend, much wine is consumed, intimacies are shared, and an unthinkable betrayal forces the group of friends and lovers to re-evaluate long-held beliefs and assumptions. Happy 40th pokes and prods at fragile relationships to reveal uncomfortable truths about the secrets we keep from each other and from ourselves.
Short blurb: Four women celebrate a friend’s birthday for the first time since a car accident left her in a wheelchair. Over the course of a weekend, intimacies are shared and an unthinkable betrayal forces the group of friends and lovers to re-evaluate long-held assumptions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqr25l7O52Y
IN HARMONY
Dir. Denis Dercourt (90 min., France, Narrative)
Marc is an equestrian stuntman. After a serious accident which traumatically injures him, he loses all hope of ever getting back on a horse. Florence works for an insurance company and is in charge of Marc’s case. Although they have nothing in common, Marc and Florence’s brief interaction will impact them in more ways than they can imagine. In Harmony is a poignant and inspiring story about the passion of a man for his horse, and his nearly impossible return to happiness after a dramatic fall. Set in the breathtaking landscape of Brittany and featuring impeccable acting throughout, the film is a vibrant life lesson.
Short blurb: After a serious riding accident, Marc loses all hope of ever getting back on a horse. Florence, who works for an insurance company, is placed in charge of his case. Their brief interaction will impact them in more ways than they can imagine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUGTwhKZBRQ
MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW
Dir. Shonali Bose & Nilesh Maniyar (97 min, India, Narrative)
A funky, stereotype-busting coming-of-age tale about a Punjabi teenage girl with cerebral palsy, based on a true story. Laila, an aspiring writer and secret rebel in a wheelchair, is accepted to New York University and leaves India for Manhattan. After a chance encounter with a fiery female activist, Laila starts to grow emotionally and explore this new world and its liberal sexualities. Tackling subject matter rarely explored with lightheartedness, this TIFF award-winning drama is a beautiful, bold and brave portrait of love, identity and sexuality. Margarita, With a Straw is joyous cinema bound to win your heart.
Short blurb: A funky, joyous, coming-of-age tale. Laila, a Punjabi girl with cerebral palsy, is an aspiring writer who leaves India for a coveted spot at New York University, where she is exposed to and explores a new world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od7_rZSU9S8
PATRICK’S DAY
Dir. Terry McMahon (98 min, Ireland, Narrative)
Patrick is a warm young man living with schizophrenia. Medication and his mother’s fierce protection means he is no threat to himself or anyone else — until St. Patrick’s Day, when he meets Karen, a suicidal flight attendant who has no idea the intimacy she shares with Patrick might reintroduce her to life. This audacious love story provocatively explores issues ranging from the right to intimacy to the question of when parental love becomes a destructive force.
Short blurb: An audacious and provocative love story. Patrick is a warm young man living with schizophrenia. His mother’s fierce protection means he is no threat to himself or anyone else — until St. Patrick’s Day, when he falls in love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS43DO_z2is
STILTS AND SPOKES
Dir. Jack Winch (91 min, USA, Documentary)
A heart-felt, entertaining and comedic documentary. After Jay Cramer falls off a rock boulder climbing and breaks his neck, he rebounds from injury – which has left him quadriplegic — to win the Los Angeles Funniest Comic competition. While in rehab, he meets a world class double above-the-knee amputee sprinter, Katy Sullivan, and falls head over heels for her. Both fall in love and go on to inspire millions.
Short blurb: After falling off a boulder while climbing and breaking his neck, Jay Cramer rebounds from injury to win the Los Angeles Funniest Comic competition. While in rehab, he meets and falls in love with Katy Sullivan, a world-class double above-the-knee amputee sprinter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMLGy8BjrtY
THAT WHICH IS POSSIBLE
Dir. Michael Gitlin (84 min, USA, Documentary)
A community of painters, sculptors, musicians and writers make work at the Living Museum, an art-space on the grounds of a large state-run psychiatric facility in Queens. Shot over the course of two years and structured across the arc of a day, the film observes with an intimate lens and unspools like a musical, both bracing and tender. It explores the liberation and healing that creativity can offer those drawn together by shared struggle. It points to a more humane and holistic approach to mental illness, and to the joy of transforming society itself.
Short blurb: A community of painters, sculptors, musicians, and writers create works at the Living Museum, an art space on the grounds of a large state-run psychiatric facility in Queens. That Which Is Possible explores creativity as a more humane and holistic approach to mental illness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW7vr9MLlcA
TRUE SMILE
Dir. Juan Rayos (82 min, Spain, Documentary)
An astonishing journey seen through the eyes of 26-year-old Sergio Aznárez Rosado, who was born both blind and autistic who lives a life packed with adventure. Over the course of 30 days, Sergio embarks on a 1,300-kilometer tandem bike ride with his brother, Juan Manuel, who pilots the bicycle. Together, they traverse desert and high mountains, starting in Cuenca in central Spain and finishing in one of the most remote villages in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. This documentary immerses us in Sergio’s seemingly unreachable world, helping us to perceive the world through his eyes.
Short blurb: An astonishing journey of two brothers—Sergio, who is blind and has autism, and his brother, Juan—who embark on a 1,300-kilometer tandem bike ride from Spain to Morocco.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AINsuaM7gHU
THE VOICE OF THE VOICELESS
Dir. Maximon Monihan (109 min, USA, Narrative)
A radically different vision of filmmaking. This silent film follows Olga, a teenager with hearing impairment who is lured from Central America to New York City under the false promise of attending a Christian sign language school. Once she arrives, Olga finds herself a slave to an international criminal syndicate. Forced to sell “I am deaf” trinkets on the subway, Olga is trapped inside a nightmare that will not end – and we, the audience, are trapped with her. Based on a true story, The Voice of the Voiceless shatters our ideas about film, storytelling, and sound.
Short blurb: Olga, along with others from Mexico and Guatemala, is brought to New York under the false promise of being offered a scholarship at a sign language school. Upon arrival, they discover they are being held hostage by a cartel, and are forced to sell paper towels on the New York City Subway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leAPsqibj4o
SHORT FILMS:
A GRAND PURSUIT
Dir. Will Strathmann
2015, 23 min, USA, Documentary
Vasu Sojitra is the first leg amputee to attempt climbing the Grand Teton mountains without using a prosthetic leg.
BIRTHDAY
Dir. Chris King
2015, 16 min, USA, Narrative
A severely wounded Marine returns home to his wife after months of surgery and rehabilitation.
BUMBLEBEES
Dir. Jenna Kanell
2015, 4 min, USA, Narrative
Despite being told as a child he would never walk or speak, Vance accomplished the impossible. But now he has a new challenge: dating.
CHIMES FOR TYLER
Dir. Stephen Panaggio
2014, 8 min, USA, Documentary
A boy with autism can distinguish wind chimes by sound.
GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN
Dir. Diego Robles
2012, 12 min, USA, Narrative
A blind veteran changes his outlook on life after meeting a young girl.
GOOD BEER
Dir. Tony Borden
2015, 7 min, USA, Narrative
Shannon and David meet online and go on a revealing first date.
I DON’T CARE
Dir. Caroline Giammetta
2014, 14 min, UK, Narrative
A mother-to-be faces the possibility of having a child with Down syndrome.
JESSE
Dir. Adam Goldhammer
2013, 14 min, Canada, Narrative
After her parents are killed, 22-year-old Kelly is the sole caregiver for her older brother Jesse who has autism.
LITTLE HERO
Dir. Marcus A. McDougald & Jennifer Medvin
2015, 10 min, USA, Documentary
A 6-year-old boy with autism is seen through his twin sister’s eyes.
MACROPOLIS
Dir. Joel Simon
2012, 7 min, UK, Narrative
Two toys made at a factory are thrown out, and together attempt to be put on a store shelf.
MARINA’S OCEAN
Dir. Cássio Pereira dos Santos
2014, 16 min, Brazil, Narrative
A teen with Down syndrome visits the sea for the first time.
THE MOBILE STRIPPER
Dir. Shirlyn Wong
2014, 14 min, USA, Narrative
What begins as a ride to the gas station by a man with Parkinson’s develops into an unforeseen adventure.
PERFECT
Dir. Karim Ayari
2013, 12 min, USA, Narrative
Julius meets with his psychologist after what he considered to be a disastrous first date due to his involuntary tics.
SOLILOQUY
Dir. Heidi Latsky
2015, 14 min, USA, Documentary
An illuminating and moving close-up of a diverse group of performers of Heidi Latsky Dance.
STILL RUNNING
Dir. Wayne de Lange & Sven Harding
2014, 5 min, USA, Documentary
Following a cycling accident which left him paralysed, Pieter du Preez becomes the first ever C6 quadriplegic to complete an Iron Man triathlon.
STRINGS
Dir. Pedro Solís García
2013, 11 min, Spain, Narrative
María’s routine at school is altered by the arrival of a child who soon becomes her best friend.
SUPER SOUNDS
Dir. Stephen de Villiers
2014, 12 min, USA, Documentary
A serendipitous encounter between a young girl and a boy with superhero aspirations.
TAKE ME
Dir. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette & André Turpin
2014, 10 min, Canada, Narrative
A nurse confronts his principles when he’s asked to aid two patients in assisted sex.
THE TALES OF THE GOLDEN SAND
Dir. Fred & Samuel Guillaume
2015, 23 min, France, Narrative
The mythical tale of the sweet town of Merryville, where an unexpected intruder disrupts the daily calm.
WELCOME TO THE LAST BOOKSTORE
Dir. Chad Howitt
2015, 11 min, USA, Documentary
A day in the life of a bookstore owner—a father, husband, small business owner, and paraplegic—showing the store’s magnetic appeal to the community.
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33 Independent Documentary Films Selected for 2015 Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Support
Thirty-three independent documentary films have been selected for 2015 Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program support.
The Sundance Documentary Fund moved to a limited rolling open call in 2015, encouraging filmmakers to submit applications only when they feel their film is ready to share. Rahdi Taylor, Film Fund Director, said, “This past year was one of experimentation and change. We eliminated deadlines, embraced risk taking in form, filmmaker and subject matter, but we stayed true to our core purpose of discovering contemporary stories of meaning and moral purpose. Overall the selections are characterized by risk, inclusion and innovation as well as addressing the most vital conversations of our time.”
DEVELOPMENT
The Acali Experiment (Sweden) (pictured above)
Director: Marcus Lindeen
Producer: Erik Gandini
In 1973 five men and six women went on a dramatic raft expedition across the Atlantic Ocean for 101 days to study human aggression and sexuality. This documentary reunites them forty years later to reveal what actually happened during one of history’s strangest group experiments.
Afterglow (Hungary)
Director: Noémi Veronika Szakonyi
Producer: Julianna Ugrin
The filmmaker found her missing brother, who was kidnapped at age six by his father, a man with extraordinary connections in communist Hungary.
Casting JonBenet (Australia/U.S.)
Director: Kitty Green
Producer: Scott Macaulay and Kitty Green
An artful exploration of the legacy of the world’s most sensational child-murder case, the unsolved death of six-year-old American beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.
Shirkers (U.S.-Singapore)
Writer-Director-Producer: Sandi Tan
In 1992, an enigmatic American named Georges shot Singapore’s first indie film with a group of female teenage film-buffs, then absconded with all the footage. Nearly twenty years later, his widow uncovers the 16mm cans in New Orleans—and ships them to the film’s screenwriter-actress, who embarks on a new voyage to Singapore, Cambridge, New Orleans, and into the past.
Three Identical Strangers (U.K.)
Director: Tim Wardle
Producer: Grace Hughes-Hallett
There’s no-one else on Earth quite like you. Or is there…?
Untitled Kronos Project (U.S.)
Director: Sam Green
Untitled Kronos Project is an experimental, live documentary that will tell the story of legendary classical group the Kronos Quartet and its 40 year career.
Untitled Prison Project (U.S.)
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Producer: Femke Wolting, Bruno Felix, Roger Ross Williams
Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams sets out on a deeply personal journey to understand why so many friends from his childhood town of Easton, Pennsylvania are in prison.
Yoghurt Utopia (U.K./Spain)
Directors: Anna Thomson, David Baksh
Producer: Adrian Pennink
Christopher Columbus gives 200 mental patients an opportunity to live, work and lead productive lives producing La Fageda, a top yogurt brand from Catalonia, Spain. Can this Yoghurt Utopia survive the mounting internal and external pressures?
Young Men and Fire (US)
Director: Kahlil Hudson and Alex Jablonski
Producer: Kyle Dickman
Young Men and Fire tells the story of working class men in a single wildland firefighting crew as they struggle with fear, loyalty, love, and defeat all over the course of a single fire season.
When God Sleeps
Director: Till Schauder (U.S/ Germany)
Producer: Sara Nodjoumi & Till Schauder (U.S./Germany)
When God Sleeps depicts the journey of an Iranian musician who is forced into hiding after hardline clerics offer a $100,000 reward for his murder
Whose Streets? (U.S.)
Director: Sabaah Jordan and Damon Davis
Producer: Flannery Miller
The murder of a teenage boy became the last straw for a community under siege. Whose Streets? follows the journey of everyday people turned freedom fighters, whose lives intertwine with a burgeoning national movement for black liberation.
PRODUCTION
All These Sleepless Nights (Poland/UK)
Director: Michal Marczak
Producer: Marta Golba, Michal Marczak, Julia Nottingham, Thomas Benski and Lucas Ochoa
A new era is coming, and Warsaw stands uncomfortably at its edge. Christopher and Michal, on the precipice of their own coming of age, restlessly roam their city’s streets in search of living forever inside the beautiful moment. Never content with answers, they push each experience to its breaking point, testing what it might mean to be truly awake in a world that seems satisfied to be asleep.
Audrie & Daisy (U.S.)
Director: Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk
Producers: Richard Berge and Sara Dosa
Two teenage girls are sexually assaulted while unconscious by boys who they thought were their friends. Each girl is harassed relentlessly online, both attempt suicide, and tragically, one girl dies. High school assault in the age of social media is explored from the perspective of the girls –and the boys –involved in the assaults.
Cecilia (India)
Director/Producer: Pankaj Johar
When Cecilia Hasda’s 14 year old daughter is trafficked and found dead in Delhi, the filmmaker and his wife decide to help her seek justice. As they battle a web of corruption at all levels, they find themselves navigating a complex network of cops, traffickers, judges, lawyers, villagers and family members.
Eagle Huntress (UK/Mongolia)
Director: Otto Bell
Producer: Stacey Reiss and Sharon Chang
This spellbinding documentary follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old nomadic Mongolian girl as she battles a culture of misogyny to become the first female Eagle Hunter in 2,000 years of male-dominated history.
Forgiveness (U.K.)
Director: Elizabeth Stopford
Producer: Nicole Stott
A modern American ghost story and a house that vanished. In the wake of two seemingly inexplicable shooting sprees, can a community forgive the teenage boy at the heart of its tragic past? .
Greywater (U.S.)
Director: Jeff Unay
Greywater is the story of Joe, a blue-collar family man who breaks the promise he made years ago to never fight again. Now forty years old, with a wife and four children who depend on him, he risks everything—his marriage, his family, his financial security— to go back into the fighting cage for one last time and come to terms with his past.
The Keepers (U.S.)
Director: Ryan White
Producer: Jessica Lawson
A documentary thriller unraveling a longstanding mystery in Baltimore.
Untitled Newtown Documentary (U.S.)
Director: Kim A. Snyder
Producer: Maria Cuomo Cole, Kim A. Snyder
We witness residents of Newtown, CT navigate the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history.
Untitled Reef Project (U.S.)
Director: Jeff Orlowski
Producer: Larissa Rhodes
Richard Vevers quit his job at a top London ad agency and sets out to become an underwater photographer. Face-to-face with stunning evidence of the human caused destruction of vibrant underwater ecosystems, Richard races the clock to save the oceans.
POST-PRODUCTION
Almost Sunrise (U.S.)
Director: Michael Collins
Producer: Marty Syjuco
Two friends, ex-soldiers, embark on an epic journey to heal from their time in combat. Filled with hope for veterans who’ve left the battlefield behind and are now seeking peace on the home front, Almost Sunrise follows Tom and Anthony as they walk 2,700 miles across America.
The Event (Ukraine/Russia)
Director: Sergei Loznitsa
Producers: Sergei Loznitsa & Maria Choustova
Three days that shook the world or much ado about nothing?
Holy Cow (Azerbaijan/Germany/Romania)
Director: Imam Hasanov
Producer: Andra Popescu, Veronika Janatkova, Stefan Kloos
One man’s dream of bringing a European cow in his remote village in Azerbaijan unsettles the conservative community that wants to keep their secular traditions intact.
Maman Colonelle (France/DR Congo)
Director: Dieudo Hamadi
Producer: Christian Lelong
Colonel Honorine works for the Congolese police force and heads the unit for the protection of minors and the fight against sexual violence. Having worked for 15 years in Bukavu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she learned she was being transferred to Kisangani. There, she found herself faced with new challenges.
Markie in Milwaukee (U.S.)
Director: Matt Kliegman
Producer: Matt Kliegman and Zac Stuart-Pontier
Markie dreams of completing her gender transition, but can she overcome the ghosts of her past as a Fundamentalist Baptist preacher?
The Pearl Button (El Boton de Nacar)
Director: Patricio Guzmán
Producer: Renate Sachse
The Pearl Button is a story about water, Cosmos and us. It all starts with the discovery of two mysterious buttons deep in the Pacific Ocean, off the Chilean coast.
Proposition for a Revolution (India)
Directors: Khushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla
Producer: Anand Gandhi
Co-Producer: Ruchi Bhimani
Exec. Producer: Joris van Wijk
What happens when an insider challenges corruption in the world’s largest democracy? Proposition for a Revolution tells the extraordinary story of the 2013 New Delhi elections, which catapulted bureaucrat-turned-activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal into power within a year of forming a new anti-corruption political party. A ground-level verite portrait depicting the transformation of a people’s movement into a political party, the film follows Arvind Kejriwal with unprecedented access as he takes on the oldest political party in India–The Congress Party.
The Reagan Years (U.S.)
Director: Pacho Velez
Producer: Sierra Pettengill
The Reagan Years is about a prolific actor’s defining role: Leader of the Free World. It uses the Reagan administration’s internal documentation to capture the spectacle of American might at its acme.
Teatro (U.S./Italy)
Director: Jeff Malmberg
Producer: Chris Shellen
For the past 50 years, the villagers of Monticchiello have confronted their communal issues through art in the form of a play that the entire town writes and performs. Teatro is a portrait of this tradition seen through the lens of the last man trying to keep it alive.
They Call Us Monsters (U.S.)
Director: Ben Lear
Producer: Sasha Alpert and Gabriel Cowan
They Call Us Monsters takes us behind the walls of The Compound, where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile offenders. To their advocates, they’re kids. To the system, they’re adults and to their victims they’re monsters. This film asks us to decide for ourselves.
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
1971 (U.S.)
Director: Johanna Hamilton
Producer: Marilyn Ness
On March 8, 1971 a group of citizens broke into an FBI office in Media, PA near Philadelphia and raided thousands of secret files that revealed an illegal government program known as COINTELPRO. Never caught, they have remained anonymous. Until now.
Enter the Faun (U.S.)
Director & Producer: Tamar Rogoff and Daisy Wright
Executive Producer: Véronique Bernard
Art and science collide as a young actor with cerebral palsy and a dancer embark on a journey that leads to unprecedented physical transformation and challenges the limitations associated with disability.
SUNDANCE | ESPN FILMS FELLOW
Shot in the Dark (U.S.)
Director: Dustin Nakao Haider
Producers: Daniel Poneman, Daniel Dewes, Derek Doneen, and Ben Vogel
For the players on Orr Academy’s basketball team, the court is a haven. Outside, it’s the Westside of Chicago – a neighborhood racked with gangs, gun trafficking, and violence. Within those walls, each player has his own struggle. But they’ll need to fight together if they ever want to break out.
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Complete Film Lineup Announced for 2015 Sarasota Film Festival
The Sarasota Film Festival announced its full line-up, including its Narrative Feature Competition, Independent Visions Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, its Sundance/Gate Foundation Shorts, its Centerpiece and Spotlight films, and its Best of the Web Program for the 2015 Festival taking place April 10th Through April 19th, 2015.