A staff-curated list of films honoring Disability Pride Month.
Born without legs and told he'd never walk, Blake Leeper defied expectations with the help of prostheses and a supportive family. From a young age, he pursued sports, pushing the limits of what was possible. Inspired by fellow blade runners, he turned to track and quickly rose to become one of the fastest men in the world. After winning big at the 2012 Paralympic Games, Blake set his sights higher competing against non-disabled athletes. In 2019, he made history by setting a world record at the able-bodied US Nationals, qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics and becoming the fastest double amputee to run 400m. But with success came controversy: officials questioned whether his blades gave him an unfair advantage. Disqualified and doubted, Blake now faces his greatest challenge proving he belongs to the world's biggest stage.
A poignant portrait of Deaf African Americans and the complexities of love at both ends of the twentieth century, Zeinabu Irene Davis's film is a groundbreaking story of inclusion and visibility. In dual performances, Michelle A. Banks and John Earl Jelks play an educated dressmaker and an illiterate migrant in 1910s Chicago, and a resilient graphic artist and an endearing librarian living in the same city eight decades later. Employing archival photography, an original score blending ragtime and African percussion, and lyrical editing, Davis deftly intertwines the two couple's stories, in ways both tender and tragic. Compensation is a landmark of American independent cinema that confronts the social forces and prejudices that hinder love.
A triumphant film that traces the origins of the world-wide disability rights movement. It tells the stories of the individuals who bravely put their lives on the line to create a better world where everyone is valued and can participate. Featuring interviews and rarely seen archival footage, the film reveals how these activists fought to live outside of institutions, challenged the stigmas and negative image of disability portrayed by the media, demanded access to public transportation, and battled to reframe disability rights as a social responsibility relevant to us all.
Medical transport driver Vic is late, but it's not his fault. Roads are closed for a protest, and no one else can shuttle his Russian grandfather and emigre friends to a funeral. The new route uproots his scheduled clients, particularly Tracy, a vibrant young woman with ALS. As the day goes from hectic to off-the-rails, their collective ride becomes a hilarious, compassionate, and intersectional portrait of American dreams.
Hale Zukas, 73, has had cerebral palsy since birth. He attended the University of California at Berkeley during the height of the Free Speech Movement. Hale is a math major, and fluent in Russian. He was one of the founding members of the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, the first group of its kind in the world dedicated to advocate for the rights of disabled people. He worked with Ed Roberts and Judy Heumann for many years, and was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board in Washington. Hale was instrumental in shaping the B.A.R.T Accessibility Task Force to assist San Francisco Bay Area transit riders in gaining public access to transit systems.
Now the top-selling female artist in the world, Yayoi Kusama overcame impossible odds to bring her radical artistic vision to the world stage. After working as an artist for over six decades, people around the globe are experiencing her installation Infinity Mirrored Rooms in record numbers, even as Kusama continues to create new work every day.
Winner of four Oscars® including "Best Picture" and "Best Actor," THE KING'S SPEECH is based on the true story of King George VI's quest to find his voice. Starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter.
An unconventional portrait of Brian Wilson, the mercurial singer, songwriter and leader of The Beach Boys. Set against the era defining catalog of Wilson's music, the film intimately examines the personal voyage and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost.
A portrait of late actor Anton Yelchin, LOVE, ANTOSHA explores his successes and struggles through his journals, photography, original music, and interviews with his colleagues, including Chris Pine, Kristen Stewart, and Jennifer Lawrence. Official Selection at the **Sundance Film Festival**.
The life and controversial death of Vincent Van Gogh told by his paintings and by the characters that inhabit them. The intrigue unfolds through dramatic reconstructions of the events leading up to his death.
In 1987, at the age of just 21, Marlee Matlin shattered expectations as the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award for her groundbreaking performance in Children of a Lesser God. Catapulted into the spotlight, she seized the moment to challenge an industry unprepared for her immense talent, emerging as a trailblazer not only as a performer but also as an author and activist. Matlin's incredible journey continued with standout roles in acclaimed projects such as The West Wing and the Oscar-winning CODA, all while relentlessly advocating for greater inclusion and accessibility both within Hollywood and beyond its borders.
Based on a true story, the unlikely romance between Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis and reclusive fishmonger Everett Lewis.
Quad rugby as played by the US team, between 2002 games in Sweden and the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. Young men, most with spinal injuries, play this rough and tumble sport in special chairs, seated gladiators. We get to know several and their families. They talk frankly about their injuries, feelings in public, sex lives, competitiveness, and love of the game. There's also an angry former team member gone north to coach the Canadian team, tough on everyone, including his viola-playing son. We meet a recently injured man, in rehab, at times close to despair, finding possible joy in quad rugby. After Athens, the team meets young men injured in war: the future stars of Team USA.
THE SESSION MAN is a documentary that tells the story of Nicky Hopkins, the prolific virtuoso session pianist. Contributing on over 250 albums, Nicky played with some of the greatest bands in the world. From 'hard rock' to ballads, his legendary piano riffs and musical motifs helped ordinary tracks become iconic. By the late 1960's, Nicky was one of the busiest and most successful session players regularly commuting across the Atlantic to play in London and Los Angeles.
An otherworldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa's life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda discover a secret classified experiment.
Darius Marder's Academy Award-winning film stars Riz Ahmed in an intense, committed performance as a drummer who loses his hearing and comes to discover deafness not as a disability but as a rich culture and community.
"When disabled musician Aleister gets the chance to go on tour with rock star Carly Major, he invites his bandmate Emmett to go along for the ride... as his roadie. Aleister faces the challenging reality of what happens when his dreams come true."-- Container.
An engaging portrait of an autistic young woman who became, through timely mentoring and sheer force of will, one of America's most remarkable success stories as a leader in the field of animal husbandry and the humane handling of cattle.
Set against the music of Belle and Sebastian, Daniel Ribeiro's coming of age tale, THE WAY HE LOOKS is a sweet and tender story about friendship and the complications of young love. Leo is a blind teenager who's fed up with his overprotective mother and the bullies at school. Looking to assert his independence, he decides to study abroad to the dismay of his best friend, Giovana. When Gabriel, the new kid in town, teams with Leo on a school project, new feelings blossom in him that make him reconsider his plans. Meanwhile, Giovana, grows jealous of this new found companionship as tensions mount between her and Leo.
Blind comedian Chris McCausland travels the globe to explore some of the world's most iconic landmarks in a new and unique way that discovers things the ordinary traveller might miss. In each episode, Chris is joined by a celebrity guest as his travelling companion. He explores the Acropolis in Athens with legendary comedian Harry Hill, the Colosseum in Rome with comedian and presenter Tom Allen, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan with comedian, actor and writer Guz Khan, and Niagara Falls in Canada with broadcaster Liza Tarbuck.