Washington DC’s first Reelabilities Film Festival
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 8:08 am
Today Washington DC will begin its first-ever Reelabilities Film Festival, in association with the NY Disabilities Film Festival, the largest festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities through feature films and documentaries. Some of the films to be presented:
Crooked Beauty: A visually stunning account of artist-activist Jacks Ashley McNamara’s transformative journey from troubled childhood to psych ward patient to pioneering mental health advocate. This poetic tale reshapes mental health stigmas while re-approaching madness as a tool for creativity, inspiration and hope.
Henry O!: The remarkable and inspiring story of Henry Oliu, a man blind since birth, who has overcome all the odds and made his major league baseball dream come true. Calling upon his love for sports and an encyclopedic memory for facts and figures, Henry hears the crack of the bat and knows if it’s a single, double, or homerun; he listens for the ball singing into the catcher’s mitt and knows if it’s a curveball, fastball, or change-up. Henry is the color analyst on Mega Classica 820 radio, WMGG, the strongest Hispanic station in Florida’s Tampa Bay Market. And at his side in the broadcast booth above Tropicana Field, whispering in his ear up-to-the-minute stats and field action only the eyes can see, is the love of his life, his wife Deb. Partners both on and off the field, Henry and Deb walk arm-in-arm through life, having met on, of all things, a blind date.
Warrior Champions: Four Iraq War veterans turn the nightmares of war into Olympic dreams. After losing limbs and suffering paralysis fighting for their country in Iraq, they have set out to do what many thought impossible… but will they make the cut?
Zig-Zag Love: A truly modern love story of a unique affair between a teenage cancer patient and a girl with cerebral palsy. Together they escape to the Scottish Highlands in pursuit of a different reality.