Film Festival Promotes More Disability Representation in Media
April 1st, 2019 (Chicago, IL) – BACKBONES, a local nonprofit serving people with disabilities, is hosting the ReelAbilities Film Festival Chicago every Thursday during the month of August. The festival is dedicated to sharing the human experience of disability through art and film. ReelAbilities will screen a variety of films, workshops, panels, and other arts programming at different venues in Chicago. The 2019 theme is “Diversify Diversity” with the goal of increasing disability representation and inclusiveness in media and all aspects of our city.
The first ReelAbilities Chicago was hosted by BACKBONES in September 2015 and had the support of ADA25 Chicago, a city-wide initiative by Chicago Community Trust celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The five-day festival offered free film screenings and arts programming accessible to people of all abilities.
ReelAbilities Chicago 2019 partners include Chicago Cultural Center, Kartemquin Films, Victory Gardens Access Project, Kessler Optical, Access Living, Illinois Art Council, and more.
All events are FREE to the public! Attendees may request wheelchair seating, audio description, captioning, or a sign language interpreter during the RSVP process.
Kartemquin has partnered with ReelAbilities: Chicago Film Festival to offer ReelLabs––an intimate feedback session for disability-oriented films in progress.
The feedback session takes place October 3rd, with July 31st as the submission deadline. Apply now!
While Susan Peters may not be a well-known film actor in today’s world, she seems to occupy an interesting space when considering the history of disability and film. Peters was one of the rising film stars of the 1940s, making a name for herself at MGM and receiving the Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her work in Random Harvest (1942) (Miller). On January 1, 1945, while on a hunting trip with her husband, she reached for her rifle and “it accidentally discharged, sending a bullet through her stomach to lodge in her spine,” paralyzing her from the waist down and causing her to use a wheelchair for the remainder of her life (“Actress”). At first glance, a person may think that this incident would have ended her film career entirely. However, producer Irving Cummings and his son “joined forces with the Orsatti Agency to produce a comeback film for her” (Miller). This film was John Sturges’ The Sign of the Ram, (1948) an adaptation of Margaret Ferguson’s 1945 novel of the same name. The film “offered the perfect vehicle with its tale of a wheelchair-bound poet living in a remote mansion on the British coast,” with Peters playing a bitter character who “[manipulates] those around her to keep herself the center of attention” (Miller). When this film was presented as a part of Turner Classic Movies’ “The Projected Image: A History of Disability in Film” series in 2012, curator Lawrence Carter-Long seemed to comment on the efforts by those in power and their desire to promote Peters, saying, “’It shows you what Hollywood can do if it wants to’” (“TCM’s”). The film was not a success and proved to be her last film role, but has gained a following in the years since its release (Miller). Interestingly, it has never been released on video or DVD (Miller).
While Daniel Day-Lewis may be more recently known for his Academy Award-winning roles in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012) and Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, (2007) his first Academy Award was earned with his performance in Jim Sheridan’s My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989). Day-Lewis portrayed Brown (a writer and artist with cerebral palsy) as an adult. One intriguing aspect of this film is how it was marketed for people with disabilities. For instance, EIN SOF Communications, Inc. employed a “direct mail campaign” that focused on releasing material that encouraged people to see the film. This included “reviews by Disability Studies scholars” and “a ton of feature stories that brought the film vastly more media attention than it would have otherwise received” (Riley II 78). EIN SOF was also able to persuade Miramax to “[pull] the film from exhibitors if their theatre was not wheelchair accessible,” after hearing from disability rights groups following their examination of local venues (“Miramax”). Today, EIN SOF is described as a “leading disability strategic marketing, accessible events and employment strategies woman-owned small business” (“Team”).
Are you a Chicago-area independent filmmaker who has a disability, or who is making a film about disability or inclusion?
Kartemquin has partnered with ReelAbilities Chicago, the largest film festival in the United States dedicated to sharing the human experience of disability through art and film, to offer ReeLabs––an exclusive critique and discussion of works-in-progress by up to six eligible local filmmakers.
The intimate feedback session is open for incomplete projects at any stage of production, and will take place on Tuesday, October 3rd 2017.
SUBMISSION PROCESS:
Please complete the ReeLabs submission form for consideration into the program.
Have questions or comments? Contact Matt Lauterbach, ReelAbilities Chicago Co-Director at [email protected]
The KTQ Labs program is a free monthly service at which filmmakers present their demos and rough cuts to the Kartemquin community in return for constructive critique. The program has helped improve over 100 projects in the past decade, including some of the best Midwest-made documentaries in recent years, such as What’s the Matter with Kansas?, Louder Than A Bomb, Andrew Bird: Fever Year, Quest, and many more.
The 2017 ReelAbilities Film Festival is coming to Chicago October 4-8! Visit the festival’s official website here.
Follow ReelAbilities Chicago on Twitter.
Like ReelAbilities Chicago on Facebook.
I’m a techie and trekkie. I love technology and Star Trek (the prime universe not the JJ Abrams universe). I also love most forms of science fiction ( horror is not science fiction). As a child of the eighties, I have a fondness for watching movies like The Princess Bride, Big, and the original Ghostbusters. Thank goodness for Netflix, Hulu, and Chromecast!
As an urban hermit, I prefer watching movies at home rather than going to the movie theater. The only exception of course is when I’m watching the latest sci-fi blockbuster.
I love living in Chicago because in the Spring and Summer I can get my fill of pop culture conventions. Through the conventions, I have met a cornucopia of celebrities from Supergirl to Back To The Future and others.
When I’m not watching movies, I’m a volunteer for Illinois Spina Bifida Association.
– Carolee Stanmar, Planning Committee Member
RAFF Chicago runs from October 4-8, 2017. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!!!
If you would like to get involved with RAFF Chicago please contact us at (773) 203-5039 or email Matt Lauterbach at [email protected]
After graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Film and Digital Media I was accepted into Kartemquin Films’ internship program in Chicago. My transition to the midwest began in Fall 2016 and has opened up a world of opportunity for storytelling. Storytelling is at the core of community. It illuminates our commonalities and can spark collective action.
Chicago has demonstrated to me that through community action most social, political, or cultural issues can be addressed. Hence, following my internship at Kartemquin I pursued opportunities to tell stories as a means to creating empathy and progressive change. First, I independently produced a short documentary about former President of the United States Barack Obama’s farewell address titled “Liberty Farewell”. Secondly, I joined the ReelAbilities Film Festival planning committee as a marketing and social media coordinator.
Both opportunities have absorbed me into communities which have embraced me for who I am. I will continue to make documentaries and support ReelAbilities because I feel apart of something communal and which inspires me to grow personally, professionally, and creatively.
– Andrew Weiler, Planning Committee Meeting
WATCH: “Liberty Farewell” (World Premiere) Friday April 28, 2017 at 12AM CST via facebook live by following @libertyfarewell (Facebook and Twitter )
RAFF Chicago runs from October 4-8, 2017. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!!!
If you would like to get involved with RAFF Chicago please contact us at (773) 203-5039 or email Matt Lauterbach at [email protected]
The first performance was in Washington, DC at The Women’s March on January 21, 2017.The choir rehearsed virtually and sang for unsuspecting strangers with flash mob performance of an a cappella version of the song. Since then, groups have performed various versions of the song all over the world. If you feel the need to use your voice for a cause close to your own heart, this song is for you. If you would like to sing for someone who doesn’t have a voice, this song is for you. If you just want to sing, join us.
THE CHORUS
Our chorus is comprised of people of all ages, from all walks of life, all faiths, and all backgrounds. Senior citizens, women, children, teens and men are all welcome. You do not need singing experience to join us.If you are a professional singer, an amateur vocalist or new to singing, join us. If you can feel music, join us.
We will stand up against violence in Chicago and globally. We will sing for equality, respect, civil discourse, self-empowerment and integrity-driven conflict resolution and discourse in Illinois. We’ll sing to celebrate each other.
REHEARSALS
We will rehearse this song and a few others for one week and perform as a large group together downtown Chicago on May 13. Attend a minimum of one-two rehearsals if you cannot attend every one. The most important rehearsals to attend are May 10 and May 11.
ALL ABILITIES and ALL INCLUSIVE
For persons who are hospitalized, unable to travel or have physical limitations, we invite you to sing along with us via your iPads, mobile phones and laptops. On May 10 and May 11 we will live stream rehearsals to a closed group via Google Hang Out or Periscope. Details will be announced the first week of May.
Kindly download the Periscope App and set up Google Hang Out in preparation now. On May 13, we will also live stream the performance to ensure everyone is included and singing together at the same time.
SHARE AND INVITE FRIENDS & FAMILY TO PARTICPATE
Print the lyrics, watch the video and practice the song with friends, family, colleagues, caregivers, and senior citizens ahead of rehearsals. People are practicing now all across our city.
UPDATES
Follow the Women’s March on Chicago Facebook Page (The FB group with 45,000+ members) for ongoing updates.
ACCESSIBLITY
Both the rehearsal and performance location are wheel chair accessible. Preston Bradley Center is located two blocks east of the CTA Red Line El at Lawrence. Kindly check for handicap access and safe routes for transportation. Street parking is available in Uptown, as well.
REEHEARSAL DATES:
May 8 7-9:00p
May 9 7-9:00p
May 10 7-9:00p
May 11 7-9:00p
May 12 7-8:30p
REHEARSAL LOCATION:
Preston Bradley Center
Auditorium
941 West Lawrence Avenue
Uptown Neighborhood in Chicago
(Located at the intersection of Sheridan Road & Lawrence Avenue 2 blocks east of the El)
PERFORMANCE DATE:
Saturday, May 13
1p-3p
PERFORMANCE LOCATION
Downtown Chicago – To Be Announced
FOR ONGOING UPDATES:
Follow the Women’s March on Chicago Facebook page – the group with 45,000+ members.
I am a black artist, filmmaker, and disability advocate. Five years ago, the lack of representation of people with disabilities in media motivated me to work on my own documentary film called The Wheelchair Chronicles. Through that journey, I’ve met so many artists and filmmakers with disabilities who felt the same way I did about the lack of representation and were telling their own stories, and were coming up with their own ideas on what a film should be like. That five-year journey shaped me as the person that I am today and has shaped the way I see visual media. It’s important for people with disabilities to share their stories through visual media with the world because often times our voices aren’t heard. Whether we’re in front of the camera or behind the scenes, our voices demand to heard.
I am pleased to be working with the ReelAbilities Film Festival and I am thrilled to be working with such talented men and women during the planning process.
– Justin Cooper, Planning Committee Member Justin Cooper earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Media Studies from DePaul University in 2013. Justin is currently a member of Access Living (a change agent committed to fostering an inclusive society that enables Chicagoans with disabilities to live fully-engaged and self-directed lives), a member of Access Living’s Young Professionals Council, and is a member of 3Arts (an organization that supports artists of color, women artists, and artists with disabilities).
RAFF Chicago runs from October 4-8, 2017. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!!!
If you would like to get involved with RAFF Chicago please contact us at (773) 203-5039 or email Matt Lauterbach at [email protected]
Fun Fact Friday brings you, our audience, facts and information sparking discussions related to “inclusion” as it intersects with disability, culture, and society.
This Weeks’ Fact:
In Hal Ashby’s Coming Home (1978), there are many early sequences taking place at a V.A. Hospital, where physically disabled Vietnam veterans are interacting with each other and taking part in sports related activities, such as basketball and football throwing. Cinematographer Haskell Wexler created a camera dolly that positioned the camera at the same level as the veterans, avoiding high camera angles used in past films to suggest a sense of vulnerability and powerlessness with a character (Norden 267-68).
