Alex Brooker: Disability and Me

A professional company of actors with disabilities defies expectations by taking center stage in Chicago the musical.

Sam Schmidt lived out his boyhood dream as an IndyCar racer, winning races and earning the title of IndyCar "Rookie of the Year" along the way. That dream came to an abrupt end when Sam crashed into a wall at 200 miles per hour, leaving him a quadriplegic. Reengineering SAM pulls the curtain back and shows up close the serious implications of a life of paralysis on Sam and everyone around him. Sam's accident rendered him physically helpless, never being able to brush his teeth, much less drive again, until a dedicated group of some of the brightest minds today stepped up to build him a car that he could drive, using only his head. Through groundbreaking adaptive technologies, Reengineering SAM chronicles Sam Schmidt's inspirational road back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and shows the promise of freedom and mobility for almost anyone confined to a wheelchair.

One hot summer, Eun-hye, a jobless who’s just knitting at home, becomes popular at ‘Munho River Market’ as an artist who draws ‘not pretty face’ pictures. When customers ask her to draw them to look pretty, she replies “But you’re already pretty”. Eun-hye takes great care for a long time to express each people’s personality and says that everyone is born pretty from the beginning. And now the number of happy faces has already reached 2,000.

As they play carefree music, their musicianship is met with surprise, wonder, and sometimes even laughter. Captivating all who watch, Otoasobi Project’s rich variety of expression reshapes the concept of improvised music. Formed in 2005 in Kobe, Japan, Otoasobi Project has some 50 members, including people with intellectual disabilities, musicians, and music therapists, who pursue music and well-being through improvised performances. After many years of numerous workshops, concerts, and other activities, they even held their first tour in the UK in September 2013. The movie “Whereabouts of Sound” depicts the appeal of the improvised music Otoasobi creates, and the beauty of its natural, honest expression.

A documentary about an innovative Disability Studies class at NYU Tandon School of Engineering where engineering students and adults with cerebral palsy learn to communicate, connect, and cultivate their abilities by making movies.

What has four legs, five arms and three heads? The Gimp Monkeys. Craig DeMartino lost his leg after a 100-foot climbing fall. Pete Davis with born without an arm. Bone cancer claimed Jarem Frye's left leg at the age of 14. While the three are linked by what they are missing, it is their shared passion for climbing that pushed them towards an improbable goal - the first all-disabled ascent of Yosemite's iconic El Capitan.

As a visibly disabled person, filmmaker Reid Davenport is often either the subject of an unwanted gaze — gawked at by strangers — or paradoxically rendered invisible, ignored or dismissed by society. The arrival of a circus tent just outside his apartment prompts him to consider the history and legacy of the freak show, in which individuals who were deemed atypical were put on display for the amusement and shock of a paying public. Contemplating how this relates to his own filmmaking practice, which explicitly foregrounds disability, Davenport sets out to make a film about how he sees the world from his wheelchair without having to be seen himself.

Animator Mathieu Labaye's tribute to his father, who suffered from multiple sclerosis and was confined to a wheelchair.

Cabeza y corazón

Passage à l'âge adulte

The film director Niko von Glasow undertakes a journey to athletes, who compete at the Paralympic Games in London 2012. He himself is a short-armed avowed hater of sport who cannot understand how anyone could take on such an odeal voluntarily. Even more since everyday life for people with a disability is most often challenging enough. He meets U.S.archer Matt Stutzman, Norwegian table tennis player Aida Dahlen, German swimmer Christiane Reppe, Greek boccia player Greg Polychronidis and a Sitting Volleyball team. Niko neither spares the athletes nor himself asking questions about life, sport and fears. With an ever growing appreciation for sport Niko attends the Paralympic Games and travels back to the ancient city of Olympia, where everything began and where boccia playing is prohibited.

Champions is a documentary in which filmmaker Helgi Piccinin follows the quests of his autistic brother Stéphane and his atypical friend Audrey. Born with an intellectual difference, Stéphane and Audrey want to prove to the world that they too can win medals. For three intense years marked by training and competitions, we follow them until the end of their ambitious dream, that of competing at the Special Olympics World Games in Dubai. Intertwining both sports odyssey and human portrait, this feel-good documentary offers an immersion into a fascinating world where athletes with an intellectual difference are at the forefront.

Twelve years after they went to school together, six children from Berlin with and without disabilities are interviewed on the topic of inclusion in the German school system.

Documentary that tells the story of Vianney Trejo, a young woman who struggles every day despite her disability. We go through her daily routine, as well as her passion, swimming, where she has consistently achieved triumphs and has been considered for international competitions.

The director's grandfather is a blind fortune teller and his father a real-estate owner. They have grievances against each other for dismantling the old house. Grandfather thinks it's time for him to leave and asks Father to quit his job. At the same time, an accident happens at Father's construction site. They are entangled in dealing with the hatred from the past and the kinship that has always existed.

This 14 minute short documentary features a panel hosted by the Disabled Student Union at University of California Berkeley called "Are Cripples Screwed." In addition to the panel, viewers are introduced to a community of disabled individuals who address misconceptions and stereotypes about sex and disability while sharing stories about their intimate relationships. Enjoy engaging with Bay area community members and comedian Josh Blue (winner of Last Comic Standing) as they share their personal experiences with sex, dating and intimacy.

Traces the lives of the Hartings, a blind Montreal family of three who make their living singing in the city's subway stations. The Hartings lost their only sighted child Hassan in a tragic drowning accident, and have since turned to the teachings of Russian mystic Grigori Grabovoi, hoping to resurrect their son. Resurrecting Hassan is an exploration of this family's legacy of grief, tragedy and abuse; the film will follow them on their path to redemption.

Ramba Zamba: a theater with handicapped and non-handicapped people/actresses and actors, which has been living and working on inclusive integrative togetherness impressively every day for thirty years now. The film accompanies the mentally and physically impaired actresses and actors for six months through the theatrical production of the play GOLEM, from the beginning of rehearsals to the premiere. In doing so, the film is also partly influenced by the portrayed persons themselves, quasi inclusively co-determined, by them capturing their own view and perception, their view of reality itself on film.

The story of Emeer - AKA B-boy Zulu Rema - a Tunisian teenager, who had both is leg amputated as a child, and of his passion for art and dance, that has helped him become a break dance champion at national level and a role model for young people all over the world.

Farhad, a well-known Iranian photographer, was born with a rare genetic disorder known as Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), which affects the development of the facial structure. Although TCS has made Farhad stand out all his life, his determination and resilience are what truly set him apart.