Disability Advocacy Virtual Film festival + Workshop

April 19-21, 2021 on Zoom

Are you missing going to the movies? Do you want to learn more about how art and performance can help promote inclusion and justice? If so, Disability Community Action Lab of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living and Disability Network Southwest Michigan would like to invite you to the Disability Advocacy Virtual Film Festival from April 19-21. We will be hosting film screenings every day, and Wednesday will feature a panel discussion and an artful advocacy workshop.

Schedule of events

This virtual event is funded in part by ADA Michigan, an affiliate of the Great Lakes ADA Center, through grant #90DP0091-01-00 from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research.

Featured Films

MONDAY APRIL 19

10:30 am: The R-Word

The R-Word documentary film confronts the word retard(ed). The film tells the stories of a diverse group of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have the same hopes & fears as everyone else, and of their siblings who advocate on their behalf and turn their love and pride into action.

1:30 pm: Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy

Directed by Academy Award-nominee Alice Elliott, Body & Soul is a look at an unusual, symbiotic relationship between two people some would call profoundly disabled. Two of the country's most remarkable advocates for people with disabilities, Diana Braun, who has Down Syndrome, and Kathy Conour, who has cerebral palsy, met three decades ago and vowed to fight to live independent lives. Told in an intimate vérité style, the film is a story of a compelling and creative friendship, as Diana and Kathy model a grand experiment in independent living.

TUESDAY APRIL 20

10:30 am: Deej

Abandoned by his birth parents, DJ Savarese finds a loving family which helps him learn to communicate. As he makes his way through high school and dreams of college, he advocates on behalf of non-speaking autistic people.

1:30 pm: Kū Kanaka/Stand Tall

Kū Kanaka/Stand Tall examines recovery from trauma for a Native Hawaiian man and his people. When 15 year old Kanalu Young takes a dive into shallow water he becomes quadriplegic. Angry and defiant through months of rehabilitation, he begins to change when he learns Hawaiian language and discovers an untold story of Hawaiian history.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21

10:00 am: Becoming Bulletproof

Becoming Bulletproof focuses on Zeno Mountain Farm, a nonprofit organization that assembles troupes of disabled and able-bodied actors to produce films. Recently the group decided to make a western, its first ever, and Michael Barnett, the documentary's director, trailed them.