What would you do if your community gave up on your child? In New Jersey, the parents of one boy with autism take matters into their own hands. They form a competitive swim team, recruiting a diverse group of teens on the autism spectrum and training them with high expectations and zero pity. Demonstrating the power of inclusion to transcend disability, this triumphant film profiles this team, the Jersey Hammerheads. Through training and competition, star athletes Mikey, Robbie, Kelvin, and others gain self-confidence and social skills that serve them both in and out of the pool.
The story of a group of young actors who dare to mount La Cucarachita Mandinga, a classic Panamanian play. The actors, who have Down syndrome, lack prior stage experience, but plan to put on the first inclusive play ever staged in Central America. We follow them as they work together to memorize lines, learn choreography, and challenge the public. This documentary explores the artistic process as well as these young people’s intimate world: their fears, their hopes, and their daily struggle for the adventure of their lives.
Precocious, isolated, and relentlessly bullied by her classmates about her height, Chicagoland high school senior Justine reluctantly begins therapy in the aftermath of a messy public affair with her English teacher. After a rocky first few sessions, she forms an unlikely bond with wheelchair-user Douglas, her therapist, who nurses demons of his own. Told with a sardonic wit, The View from Tall is a tender story of self-discovery at more than one age.
Kitty Lunn, a paraplegic dancer, has been teaching students with disabilities for the past thirty years.
A sign language theater director has a love affair with his lead actress, but is unable to leave his wife.
Legendary gospel quartet The Blind Boys of Alabama has an amazing career—since meeting at a state-run, segregated vocational institute for the blind in the 1930s, they have toured continuously, amassing five Grammy Awards and universal acclaim. They soared through the golden era of gospel in the 1950s, experienced difficult times when rock ’n’ roll took over, and resurged with the Broadway hit Gospel at Colonus. Now, as the group enters its seventh decade, they are as artistically vital as ever, collaborating with musicians like Peter Gabriel, Ben Harper, and others. As the surviving band members recount their unlikely success story, we see a rare, remarkable view of life on the road and in the studio with a group of renowned performers.
A man with cerebral palsy has a full day.
In this wildly original dark comedy, two teenaged boys living in a facility for children with disabilities are looking for a way out. When they befriend a gruff firefighter-turned-hitman who enlists them to be his accomplice wheelchair assassins, they enter a surreal world of gangsters and guns, all the while coming to terms with their respective disabilities. With stellar cinematography, a mix of live action and graphic animation, and a dark sense of humor, Kills on Wheels successfully blends genres, dealing with issues of invisibility, prejudice, and loneliness as it rolls on to exciting, offbeat places. Hungary’s 2016 Oscar submission for Best Foreign Film.
Private Investigators Lefty and Loosey uncover a diabolical plot and must save the world.
A sudden bereavement throws Luke, a fiercely independent young man with Down syndrome, into a group home—a daunting new environment where he finds unexpected support from his feisty, streetwise caretaker and a local heir dealing with his own demons. As friendships bloom, Luke’s frustration and disappointment with his new home soon turns to wonder when he discovers a way out and begins to explore the surrounding countryside. But as long-buried secrets are revealed, Luke treads dangerously close to disaster. My Feral Heart is a beautifully realized narrative, bolstered by strong performances, distinctive cinematography,and a deeply evocative score.
