Join Rory Culkin and RJ Mitte Announced as Special Guests at the 7th Annual Reelabilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Monday, 09 March 2015 20:15

Written by Janet Walker

REELABILITIES: NY DISABILITIES FILM FESTIVAL

Official Selections – 2015
Synopses and Film Information

MAIN SLATE

AUTISTIC LIKE ME: A FATHER’S PERSPECTIVE
Dir. Charles Jones
(82 min, USA, 2014, Documentary)
A candid portrait of the fathers and male caregivers of children with autism. Dispelling the “big boys don’t cry” myth, a group of fathers open up to each other about the parenting experience very different than the ones they had envisioned.
 
THE CASE OF THE THREE SIDED DREAM
Dir. Adam Kahan
(USA, 88 min, 2014, Documentary)
This film tells the story of Jazz legend Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who was known for playing multiple instruments at once, for his comical and political interjections on stage, and for creating music about becoming blind as an infant.
 
ENDLESS ABILITIES
Dir. Harvey Burrell, Tripp Clemens
(2013, USA, 72 min, Documentary)
Best friends with spinal cord injuries drive across the country in search of adaptive sports for individuals with physical disabilities, joining many people from rehabilitation patients to Paralympic athletes in a wide range of sports.
 
THE FINISHERS 
Dir. Nils Tavernier
(95 min, France/Belgium, 2013, Narrative)
At 17 years old, Julien has a great sense of humor, loads of charm — and cerebral palsy. In a bid to bond with his distant father, Paul, Julien challenges him to competing together in the Ironman triathlon in Nice, France — a near impossible feat.
 
GABRIEL
Dir. Lou Howe
(USA, 87 min, 2014, Narrative)
Gabriel (Rory Culkin) longs for stability and happiness amidst an ongoing struggle with bipolar disorder. Convinced that reuniting with his ex-girlfriend is the key, Gabriel tests the limits of his family in a desperate and increasingly obsessive pursuit.
 
JON IMBER’S LEFT HAND
Dir. Richard Kane
(USA, 63 min, 2014, Documentary)
When ALS began to affect artist Jon Imber, he switched from painting with his right hand to his left, and then with both hands at his waist. Imber’s paintings and intimate conversations with his wife reveal his fears as his degenerative condition worsens.
 
KEEP ROLLIN’
Dir. Stefan Hillebrand, Oliver Paulus
(Switzerland/Germany, 95 min, 2013, Narrative)
The story of a guy who is fed up with being in a group home, having to use a wheelchair, and the fact that his caretaker is in a relationship with a sleazy man, named Marc. When he just can’t take it anymore, he plots how to rob the gas station where Marc works.
 
LOGIN2LIFE
Dir. Daniel Moshel
(86 min, USA, 2012, Documentary)
A fascinating look at the growing number of people who are spending much of their lives in online virtual worlds. For many people with disabilities, these worlds open up new paths for friendships, employment and sexual exploration.
 
MARIE’S STORY
Dir. Jean-Pierre Améris
(France, 95 min, 2014, Narrative)
Based on real-life events, this is the story of Marie, a deaf and blind fourteen-year-old girl. At the Larnay Institute, Sister Marguerite, a young nun, takes Marie under her wing and encourages her to communicate with the world around her.
 
MIMI AND DONA
Dir. Sophie Sartain
(2014, 66 min, USA, Documentary)
92-year-old Mimi, has cared for Dona, her daughter who has an intellectual disability, for 64 years. Aging means facing the fact that she will not outlive her daughter. The film spotlights the challenges of aging caregivers and the ripple effects of Dona’s disability on three generations of a Texas family.

NO ORDINARY HERO: THE SUPERDEAFY STORY
Dir. Troy Kotsur
(78 min, USA, 2013, Narrative)
Tony Kane plays a superhero on television, but in real life he’s just another guy who happens to be deaf. Eight-year-old Jacob Lang, is also deaf and is having a hard time. When Tony and Jacob’s paths cross, they inspire belief in each other and in themselves.
 
THE SPECIAL NEED
Dir. Carlo Zoratti
(Italy/Germany/Austria/France, 84 min, 2013, Documentary)
28-year-old Enea is looking for love — physical love that is. But as Enea has autism, and lives in Italy, finding it is anything but easy. So he and his best friends set out on a journey through Europe. They eventually find a lot more than they had hoped.