We strongly recommend the ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival, which is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities.

The festival presents award winning films in various locations throughout the NY metropolitan area, as well as discussions and other engaging programs which bring together the community to explore, discuss and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience.

When: Feb. 3, 2011 – Feb. 8, 2011
Where: Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Roosevelt Island, Staten Island, Westchester, Long Island



Here is a listing of the films:

• ANITA
  Director: Marcos Carnevale (2009 / Argentina / 104min)
  Narrative
  Anita, a young woman with Down syndrome, gets separated from her mother after a bomb explodes at their Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. As she wanders the city searching for her mom–alone for the first time ever–she discovers an inner strength few could have expected.
• BRAIN DAMADJ’D…TAKE II
  Director: Paul Nadler (2006 / Canada / 50min)
  Documentary
  Ten years ago, Paul Nadler was a creative maverick: an extreme sportsman, award-winning TV director, and a veritable Casanova to boot. When a car accident leaves him with a traumatic brain injury he sets out to reaffirm he is still is all of these things.
• CROOKED BEAUTY
  Director: Ken Paul Rosenthal (2010 / USA / 30min)
  Documentary
  A visually stunning account of artist-activist Jacks Ashley McNamara’s transformation from victim of a 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.
• REEL-ENCOUNTERS
  Directors: Various / (2010 / UK / Australia / 60min)
  Collection of Short Films
  A series of groundbreaking short films made by and about different deaf communities from around the world. Dating, possessed machines, and much more are tackled in these diverse and captivating universal gems.
• THE LAST AMERICAN FREAK SHOW
  Director: Richard Butchins (2008 / UK / 80min)
  Documentary
  Political correctness be damned! A motley crew of performers with disabilities, turn the American Freak Show on its head, as they travel the country exposing bigotry, bucking expectations, and challenging preconceptions at every step.
• ME, TOO
  Directors: Antonio Naharro, Álvaro Pastor (2009 / Spain / 103min)
  Narrative
  Daniel, a recent college graduate with Down Syndrome forges a strong bond with vivacious workmate Laura, but their burgeoning relationship turns complicated when he professes his love to her. This gripping narrative questions modern relationships and conceptions of “normality” as the couple grapples with their need to connect.
• MY SPECTACULAR THEATER
  Director: Lu Yang (2010 / China / 120min)
  Narrative
  Chen Yu, a hawker of pirated DVDs, finds refuge and then employment in a Beijing movie theater for the blind. As his relationship to the blind community deepens, he finds love, acceptance, and heartbreak in this beautifully-shot ode to the power of cinema.
• THE RED CHAPEL
  Director: Mads Brügger (2009 / Denmark / 87min)
  Documentary
  In this Sundance favorite, a journalist with no scruples and two Danish/Korean comedians—one a self-proclaimed “spastic” with cerebral palsy—travel to North Korea under the guise of cultural exchange. Mixing biting humor and incisive investigative skills the troupe exposes a totalitarian regime long suspected of shunning its disabled population.
• WANDERING EYES
  Directed by: Ofir Trainin (2010 / Israel / 55min)
  Documentary
  Gabriel Belhassan is the next big thing in the rock music world, former Orthodox Jew and recently diagnosed manic depressive. Upon being released from a psychiatric facility, he begins work on a solo album, but urban solitude, disturbed sleep, and a myriad of daily pressures refuse to let him be.
• WARRIOR CHAMPIONS
  Director: Craig Renaud (2009 / China / USA / 80min)
  Documentary
  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?
• WRETCHES & JABBERERS
  Director: Gerardine Wurzburg (2010 / USA / 90min)
  Documentary
  Two men with autism–an accomplished artist and an activist–embark on a global quest to change attitudes about autism and intelligence. Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette travel to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland, dissecting, challenging, and reshaping public conceptions along the way.

Here is a listing of festival events:

• DIVERSITY ON SESAME STREET
  40 years of the seminal TV show screened for kids in one room, while adults are treated to clips and a conversation with show writer Emily Perl Kingsley in another.
• FLAME
  A spectacular show from the NY-based band, comprising 11 musicians/performers with developmental and physical abilities.
• FREE PLAYERS
  Family Residences and Essential Enterprises’ (FREE) jazz ensemble of performers. with mental and develop-mental disabilities.
• IF CREATED BY HEIDI LATSKY DANCE
  Excerpts from IF, a breathtaking com-munity-based dance performance which transcends physical differences with a diverse cast of 20 that is multi-generational, multiracial and of mixed ability.
• MUSIC FOR AUTISM
  An interactive, “Autism friendly” con-cert featuring Broadway’s Jersey Boys’ Dominic Nolfi, Dominic Scaglione and Deborah Hurwitz. Open for individuals with autism and their families. Advance registration required. This concert is the first of the Linda Rodgers Emory Concert Series generously underwritten by the Richard and Dorothy Rodgers Fund of UJA-Federation.
• OUR TIME
  Original work by the talented members of Our Time, a non-profit organization that uses the arts to improve the confidence and communication skills of young people who stutter.
• SEEING WITH PHOTOGRAPHY
  A striking exhibition of photos from artists who are visually impaired, partially sighted, and totally blind. On View Feb 3-8 at The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library
  40 W. 20th St, NY, NY 10011
• NAVIGATING DISABILITY: AN EXPLORATION BY 4 ARTISTS
  ON VIEW Feb 3–Apr 28
  THE LAURIE M TISCH GALLERY AT THE JCC IN MANHATTAN
  Fountain Gallery, the premier venue for artists with mental illness, and VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, present 4 artists (Jacks Ashley McNamara, Martin Cohen, Emily Eifler, Scott Ligon) who are navigating unique relationships between disability and creative expressions. Gallery Reception and Artist Talk on Sat, Feb 5, 6 pm

Here is a schedule of events and the films:

MANHATTAN

JCC IN MANHATTAN
334 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10023

• Anita
  Thursday, Feb 3, 7pm
  Opening Night
• Diversity on Sesame Street
  Sat, Feb 5, 2 pm
• IF
  Sat, Feb 5, 4 pm
• Gallery Reception and Artists Talk
  Sat, Feb 5, 6pm
• Crooked Beauty + Wandering Eyes
  Sat, Feb 5, 7 pm
• Me, Too
  Sat, Feb 5, 9:15 pm
• Music for Autism
  Sun, Feb 6, 11am
• Our Time
  Sun, Feb 6, 1 pm
• Brain Damadj’d…Take II
  Sun, Feb 6, 2 pm
• Warrior Champions
  Sun, Feb 6, 4 pm
• My Spectacular Theater
  Sun, Feb 6, 7 pm
• Reel-Encounters (Short Films)
  Mon, Feb 7, 7 pm
• Red Chapel
  Mon, Feb 7, 8:45 pm
• Wretches & Jabberers
  Tue, Feb 8, 7 pm
  Closing Night

GEORGE BRUCH LIBRARY
518 W. 125th St
New York, NY 10027

• FREE Players
  Sat, Feb 5, 2 pm

NYU
19 University Place, Rm 102
New York, NY 10012

• The Last American Freak Show
  Fri, Feb 4, 3 pm

BELLEVUE HOSPITAL CENTER
Saul Farber Auditorium
462 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016

• Crooked Beauty
  Fri, Feb 4, 1:30 pm

WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
Kaufman Astoria Studios Film & Video Gallery (2nd Floor)
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York, NY 10021

• Reel-Encounters (Short Films)
  Sat, Feb 5, 7 pm

SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM
Sackler Center for Arts Education
5th Ave at 89th Street
New York 10128

• Crooked Beauty and Brain Damadj’d…Take II
  Mon, February 7, 6:30pm

JEFFERSON MARKET LIBRARY
425 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10011

• The Last American Freak Show
  Mon, Feb 7, 6 pm

CHATHAM SQUARE LIBRARY
33 East Broadway
New York, NY 10002

• My Spectacular Theater
  Tue, Feb 8, 4:30 pm

GEORGE BRUCE LIBRARY
518 West 125th St
New York, NY 10027

• FREE Players

Sat, Feb 5, 2 pm

ANDREW HEISKELL BRAILLE AND TALKING BOOK LIBRARY
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011

• Seeing with Photography
  On View Feb 3 – 8

BRONX

HOSTOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Savoy Building, 2nd Fl
120 E. Walton Ave.
Bronx, NY 10451

• Warrior Champions
  Mon, Feb 7, 1 pm

BELMONT LIBRARY
610 E. 186th Street (at Hughes Ave.)
Bronx, NY 10458

• FREE Players
  Mon, Feb 7, 4 pm

QUEENS

CENTRAL QUEENS Y
67-09 108th Avenue
Forest Hills, NY 11375

• Anita
  Tue, Feb 8, 1pm
• Warrior Champions
  Tue, Feb 8, 7pm

BROOKLYN

NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
25 Chapel Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

• Crooked Beauty and Wandering Eyes
  Fri, Feb 4, 6pm
• Anita
  Mon, Feb 7, 6pm

STATEN ISLAND

JCC OF STATEN ISLAND
Joan and Allan Bernikow Building
1466 Manor Road Staten Island, NY 10314

• Brain Damadj’d…Take II
  Sat, Feb 5, 8 pm
• Warrior Champions
  Sun, Feb 6, 12 pm noon
• FLAME
  Sun, Feb 6, 3pm
• Anita
  Mon, Feb 7, 7 pm
• Crooked Beauty
  Wandering Eyes
  Tues, Feb 8, 7 pm

ROOSEVELT ISLAND

COLER GOLDWARTER HOSPITAL
1 Main Street , 1st Floor Auditorium
Roosevelt Island, NY 10044

• Warrior Champions
  Sat, Feb 5, 7 pm
• Brain Damadj’d…Take II
  Mon, Feb 7, 6:30 pm

PS 217
645 Main Street
Roosevelt Island, NY 10044

• Wretches and Jabberers
  Fri, Feb 4, 7 pm

WESTCHESTER

JCC ON THE HUDSON
371 South Broadway
Tarrytown, NY 10591

• Wretches and Jabberers
  Sun, Feb 6, 11 am
• Warrior Champions
  Mon, Feb 7, 10:30 am

JCC MID-WESTCHESTER
Bendheim Theater
999 Wilmot Road
Scarsdale, NY 10583

• Crooked Beauty
  Thu, Feb 3, 1 pm
• Warrior Champions
  Fri, Feb 4, 9:30 am
• Diversity on Sesame Street
  Sun, Feb 6, 10:30 am
• Wretches & Jabberers
  Tue, Feb 8, 6:30 pm

LONG ISLAND

ABILITIES!
Smeal Learning Center
201 I.U. Willets. Rd
Albertson, NY 11507

• My Spectacular Theater
  Sat, Feb 5, 8 pm
• Warrior Champions
  Sun, Feb 6, 2 pm
• Wretches & Jabberers
  Mon, Feb 7, 7 pm

CINEMA ARTS CENTRE
423 Park Ave
Huntington, NY 11743

• Wretches & Jabberers
  Sun, Feb 6, 1 pm
• Me Too
  Sun, Feb 6, 4:15 pm

ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION

Reelabilities strives for inclusion of all people. Individuals needing accommodations to participate should contact the screening venue directly by January 20.

ASL interpretation, Live Audio Description, and information in Braille are available upon advance request.
All films are captioned or subtitled and all venues are wheelchair accessible.

TICKET INFORMATION
Admission varies by location. Tickets are available online. To purchase tickets by phone please contact the screening venue directly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
REELABILITIES.ORG