Several dozen years apart in age, both Stanislaw and Sta ́s were born without arms. A remarkable artist who uses his feet to paint, draw, eat, and drive, Stanislaw becomes an important mentor to young Stas, a boy still learning to navigate his unique place in the world.
Accessibility aids thanks to support from DTCC.
DJ Savarese (“Deej”) finds comfort in words, as expressed by his poetry, spoken through a text-to- voice synthesizer. Adopted by a loving and supportive family, Deej navigates the college admissions process as a young adult on the autism spectrum, while confronting obstacles to inclusion.
Robert Rooy is an independent filmmaker who has worked in more than twenty countries, creating media with and for international development, human rights and environmental organizations. His encounter with Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, led to producing and directing To Our Credit, a two-part PBS series that aired in 1998. In addition, he has worked as an assistant director on more than forty films, including Lonesome Dove, Honeymoon in Vegas, Minority Report and The West Wing. He holds an MFA degree from Yale School of Drama, a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Calvin College, and a National MediaMaker Fellowship from the Bay Area Video Coalition.
A documentary about youth with developmental disabilities putting on a play about their lives.
Matt works at his own salon by day, but at night, he dresses up as a superhero, sets up a salon stool on a busy Toronto street corner, and gives free haircuts to the homeless.
A beloved high school principal continues to lead, despite rapidly losing his abilities to ALS.
A stop-motion animated film illustrating a child with dyslexia’s experience in the classroom, and the difference made by understanding teachers who make that extra effort.
Krista is a puppet artist, filmmaker, and all around lover of the arts. In 2016 she obtained her Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Connecticut in Puppet Arts. Since that time she has been working at Animax Designs in Nashville, Tennessee, where she helps bring animatronic, puppet, and costume characters to life every day as a Figure Finisher. In her free time she pursues writing and illustrating for children’s books.
Based on a true story: Four young students from a school for the blind embark on an odyssey from their remote village in Tibet to the giant city of Shenzhen in order to sing on a TV talent competition.
Accessibility aids thanks to support from Alliance Bernstein.
Zhang Wei was born in the Hunan Province of China, and he studied directing at the Beijing Film Academy and Cinema Studies at the Chinese National Academy of Arts. To date, he has directed five features including Beijing Dream (2010) and Shadow Puppet Show of One Person (2011), both of which received acclaim from critics. His third feature Factory Boss (2014) has been shown at numerous festivals, and it won the Best Actor Award at the Montréal World Film Festival and the Fajr Award for best original screenplay at the Fajr International Film Festival. His fourth feature Destiny (2016) won the Best Actress Award and the Best Actor Award at the New York SR Socially Relevant Film Festival. Ballad From Tibet is his fifth feature and won the Best Children’s Feature at the China International Children’s Film Festival in November 2017.
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.
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.
Just, who lost both of his legs in an accident, chases the thieves who stole his crush’s purse.
Pavel Gumennikov learned storytelling from his grandfather, but his career began in China where his first film, Kaleidoscope, won the Sony Award at the China Normal University Film Festival, after which he began directing commercials and music videos in addition to his own films.
