Archivo

A teenage boy and a man sit and look to the right

Scaffolding

Seventeen-year-old Asher has always been a troublemaker and terrible student due to his learning differences. A charismatic teacher prompts a fascination in the world of literature, but also forces a conflict with Asher’s brash father, who expects him to take over the family scaffolding business.

Accessibility aids thanks to support from Bank Leumi.

A group of children in ballerina outfits stand with adults

Perfectly Normal For Me

At a unique after school dance program in Queens, kids with a variety of physical and developmental challenges pair with teenage volunteer helpers to create an inclusive environment too often absent in our world.

 

Filmmaker Bio

Catherine Tambini is an award-winning filmmaker who lives in NYC. Her directing and producing credits include Sundance Film Festival award winner and Independent Spirit Award nominee Farmingville (PBS’s POV); Academy Award®-nominee Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse (PBS’s Great Performances/Dance in America); CINE Golden Eagle Award winner and Imagen Award nominee The State of Arizona (PBS’s Independent Lens); Hate Rising With Jorge Ramos (HBO & Univision) for which she received the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Impact Award for Outstanding Documentary; and Art and Heart: The World of Isaiah Sheffer, which premiered at the New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center. Ms. Tambini is the recipient of many grants including multiple grants from the Sundance Institute and the MacArthur Foundation. She holds a BFA from the University of Oklahoma and an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

A woman talks to the camera with books behind her

Out of My Head

Investigating the devastating migraines that frequently debilitated Styron’s daughter, the film exposes the reality behind what most people think of as simply a bad headache. In fact, migraine remains a mysterious and stigmatized neurological disease afflicting nearly a billion people worldwide. Features author Joan Didion reading from her legendary essay “In Bed.”

Audio description provided thanks to support from Woman of Her Word.

 

Filmmaker Bios

Susanna Styron (director/writer) most recently wrote and directed the short film, House of Teeth, starring Deborah Hedwall and Amanda Kristin Nichols. Her career as a director began with Columbia Pictures’ Shadrach, starring Harvey Keitel and Andie MacDowell, which premiered internationally at the Venice Film Festival. Her other directing credits include A&E  Television’s 100 Centre Street, created by Sidney Lumet, for which she also wrote; and the web series All Downhill From Here. Susanna has written several award-winning television movies for Hallmark Hall of Fame and Lifetime; and written for the TV series Borgia, created by Tom Fontana. Susanna’s previous documentary, the award-winning 9/12: From Chaos to Community about the volunteer effort at Ground Zero, was also a collaboration with Jacki Ochs. She has published nonfiction prose in The Yale Revue, Spin Magazine, Real Simple Magazine, and The New York Times. Susanna teaches Screenwriting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Jacki Ochs (producer) is an award winning documentary producer and director. Her film <i>Vietnam: The Secret Agent</i> premiered at New York Film Festival and won Special Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. Her <i>Letters Not About Love</i> won the Best Feature Documentary at SXSW Film Festival. Her work has been seen and broadcast worldwide. Jacki executive produced Keith Beauchamp’s Emmy nominated <i>Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till</i> which won the Freedom of Expression Award from the National Board of Review, and Kristi Zea’s <i>Everybody Knows … Elizabeth Murray</i>. Jacki has been the recipient of the Guggenheim and two MacDowell Colony Fellowships and has been Executive Director of the Human Arts Association, a fiscal sponsoring organization for art and media-based productions, since 1977. She is Adjunct Professor at Pratt Institute’s Film/Video department.

Two people sit in front of a sound mixing board

Mind Over Matter

A young man with cerebral palsy overcomes a paralyzed left hand, bullies, and stereotypes, dreaming of becoming a rock guitarist even while told he will never succeed. His dreams become reality as he leads his own band, inspired by the band Korn to express himself through music.

Accessibility aids thanks to support from ADAPT Community Network.

A boy and a girl look at each other

Best Friend

After moving across the country, a little girl finds more than a best friend when her parents let her adopt a dog.

 

Filmmaker Bios

Cory Reeder is a writer, director, producer and founder of Renaissance Man Productions. Since moving his company to Los Angeles in 2011, he has been creating music videos for: Hayley Kiyoko, Seether, Martin Solveig, Of Mice & Men, Five Finger Death Punch, and more. In between music video productions, Cory is devoted to directing narrative stories. In 2015, while directing the award-winning short film Unlikely Temptations starring Nic Novicki, Reeder was educated on the lack of representation people with disabilities have in media. Since then he has focused his efforts on all forms of inclusion behind and in front of the camera. In 2016, his film Boxed Out won actress Diana Elizabeth Jordan the Best Actor Award from the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. In 2017, his entry in the competition, Best Friend, was nominated in all categories taking home two awards for Best Film and Audience Awareness Award. He is currently writing Best Friend into a feature-length screenplay and looking to have it produced this fall.

An animated lunar rover and rocket on top of a moon surface

Alphabet Mission to Mars

A stop-motion animated film for children, created by an autistic teen, about letters and numbers on rescue mission to Mars.