ReelAbilities Film Festival: Los Angeles 2020 is a virtual three-day festival that showcases new and classic films, conversations, and artistic programs which explore, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience. All films are presented with full audio description and closed captioning. We will work together with the public (irrespective of ability) to gain a greater appreciation of quality film across abilities. Sign Language and Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) will also be provided throughout the screenings and panels.

Scroll down for movie and panel times and descriptions. Get tickets by clicking the green TICKETS button above. You can donate the suggested amount or use the promo code below. Then just wait for your confirmation email.

Access to Films and Panels

This year we will be hosting the screenings and panels virtually. All films, panels, and events this year are based on donation admittance. Simply select the movie(s), panel(s), or pass you would like, donate the suggested amount if you can ($8.00 for a single movie, $20.00 for a Saturday or Sunday Day Pass, or $40.00 for the Total Festival Pass) and sit back and wait for the special email with the link(s) to the screening. You can also donate any amount you wish and lend your support this year and for years to come by selecting the "Donations: ReelAbilities Los Angeles" option in the ticketing page.

ReelAbilities is committed to ensuring access to all communities; to that end, if ticket price is a barrier, you can attend any or all of our events free of charge. Enter promo code "CINEMA" for no-cost tickets to any part of the festival. Enter the promo code at the top of the ticketing page BEFORE you make your ticket selections to receive no-cost tickets.

The email with the screening link(s) will be sent to you on Friday, October 16 and can be used at any time during the festival, but we invite you to join us at the scheduled screening time to share in the movie-going experience and live digital Q&A sessions with your fellow viewers. ("Edward Scissorhands" and "Patch of Blue" viewing links will only be available an hour ahead of their scheduled show times.) Please note there will be a 15 to 30 minute break in-between each screening, as listed below.

Please do not share, post, or otherwise disseminate your screening link. The number of streaming participants is limited, just as space is limited in a physical theater, and we ask for your help to ensure all registered participants are able to enjoy the movie with you.

Saturday / Sunday Day Passes

Select a whole day's worth of the film festival quickly and easily!

Select the "Saturday All Day Pass" or "Sunday All Day Pass," donate the suggested $20, and receive all screening links for that day. Please be sure you can attend all screenings and panels, since the total number of screening links is limited. Promo code "CINEMA" can be used for no-cost Day Passes.

Total number of Saturday / Sunday Day Passes is limited.

Total Festival Pass

Gain Access to all three days of the festival!

Select the "Total Festival Pass," donate the suggested $40.00, and receive links for the entire festival. As with the Saturday / Sunday Day Passes please be sure you can attend all screenings and panels, since the total number of screening links is limited. Promo code "CINEMA" can be used for no-cost Total Festival Passes.

Total number of Total Festival Passes is limited.

Join us at https://reelabilitiesla.org/ for details, trailers, and news as the Festival approaches!

EVENT PROGRAM:

Friday, October 16

Opening Night Remarks and Screening

6:00 PM—Remarks

7:00 PM—"Give Me Liberty"

9:00 PM—Q&A 

Remarks, Screening, Q&A

USA / 2019 / 110 min. / English / Director: Kirill Mikhanovsky / Multiple Disabilities

"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 émigré friends to a funeral. The new route uproots his scheduled clients, particularly Tracy (Lauren “Lolo” Spencer in a breakout performance), 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 and disenchantment."

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Saturday, October 17:

11:00 AM—NARRATIVE SHORTS  

Shorts followed by Q&A - 54 min.

"The Man of the Trees"—19 min. (Physical Disability)

"Bube Maises"—6 min. (Dementia)

"Boldly Go"—6 min. (Physical disability, LGBTQ)

"What It Feels Like"—3 min. (Mental Illness)

"Angel's Mirror"—14 min. (Physical Disabilities)

"Revel in Your Body"—6 min. (Multiple Disabilities)

15 min. break

1:00 PM—"Mommy, Why Does that Man Not Have Legs?"

Panel

The path to normalization starts at a young age, yet the subject of disability remains taboo. People often fumble when faced with awkward questions about disability. This panel will explore how to effectively speak to children about disability and how film can facilitate the conversation with children.

Panelists to be announced.

30 min. break

3:00 PM—"Bedlam"  

Screening followed by Q&A

USA / 2019 / 86 min. / English / Director: Kenneth Paul Rosenberg.

Through intimate stories of patients, families, and medical providers, Bedlam immerses audiences in the national crisis surrounding the need for better care of people with mental illness, and demands this critical situation be viewed through an intersectional lens.

30 min. break

5:30 PM—"25 Prospect Street"

Screening followed by Q&A

USA/ 2018 / 100 min. / English / Directors: Kaveh Taherian, Andrew Richey.

A look at the sparkle and struggles of the Prospector Theater—a nonprofit movie theater in Connecticut with a mission of meaningful employment for people with disabilities.

15 min. break

8:15 PM—"Code of the Freaks"

Screening followed by Q&A

USA / 2019 / 68 min. / English / Director: Salome Chasnoff.

Taking its title from Tod Browning’s classic film, this radical reframing of how characters with disabilities are represented looks at a century of Hollywood favorites with a fresh perspective. Disability activists imagine a cinematic landscape that takes people with disabilities seriously.

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Sunday, October 18:

11:00 AM—Easterseals Disability Film Challenge: Home Edition  

Multiple Films/Entries

Selections followed by extended Q&A

The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge: Home Edition includes selections from the annual film competition dedicated to driving disability inclusion and representation within the entertainment industry, both in front of and behind the camera. This year's competitors made documentaries at home, making COVID-19 and its fallout an implicit part of each film. The discussion will focus on the films and filmmakers, but also how the disability community has dealt with quarantine through art.

30 min. break

1:00 PM—"Edward Scissorhands"

Screening followed by Q&A

USA / 1990 / 110 min. / English / Director: Tim Burton.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Tim Burton's classic—about a boy with scissors for hands who enters suburbia and changes it forever—is a seminal work in a disability narrative. Please join us and the film's screenwriter, Caroline Thompson, for a discussion of her work on this groundbreaking film.

30 min. break

4:30 PM—"A Patch of Blue"

Screening followed by Panel

USA / 1965 / 105 min. / Language / Director: Guy Green

A blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man, who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life by introducing her to the outside world.

55th anniversary screening followed immediately by the panel: "Black Disabled Lives Matter: Intersectionality Between Movements and Lessons to be Learned."

6:30 PM—"Black Disabled Lives Matter: Intersectionality Between Movements and Lessons to Be Learned."

Panel

There is a history of synergy between the civil rights movement and the disability rights movement. Today more than ever, there are lessons to be learned from Black Lives Matter and perhaps Black Lives Matter could learn from the disability movement as well. This panel will provide a historical perspective of the civil rights movement and disability rights movement, and how they have intersected each other. It will also examine why disability is often left out of conversations focusing on diversity. Panelists will explore lessons learned and how both movements may be strengthened by the other.

Panelists to be announced.

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The City of Los Angeles will provide reasonable accommodation(s) to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and facilities for people with disabilities. To make a request, please contact ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles at reelabilitiesla@lacity.org or (213) 202-2749 five or more working days in advance.

Please note that recordings may be taken throughout ReelAbilities Film Festival Los Angeles 2020 panels and events. These will be used by ReelAbilities Los Angeles for marketing and publicity in our publications, on our website, and in social media or in any third party publication, and for archival purposes.

FAQs

What's the refund policy?

Refunds can be made up to 24 hours prior to the scheduled event. Please note that the Eventbrite service charge is non-refundable, and will be subtracted from the total due back.

Are the virtual screenings available to users located outside the US?

No. Due to screening rights restrictions, streamed films and conversations will only be accessible to people located within the US territories.

How will I receive access to my film(s)?

You will receive an email at 3:00PM Pacific Standard Time on Friday, October 16th with instructions on how to access the films you have registered for. All films except "Edward Scissorhands" and "Patch of Blue" will be available throughout the Festival, but we encourage you to watch them virtually alongside other attendees at their scheduled times and join us in the Q&As after. "Edward Scissorhands" and "Patch of Blue" instructions will be emailed to you immediately prior to their respective showtimes.

I won’t be able to watch the film at the scheduled start time. Is there a way for me to still watch the film?

Yes! All films (except "Edward Scissorhands" and "Patch of Blue") will be available throughout the Festival beginning at 3:00PM on Friday, 10/16/2020. As earlier stated, we encourage you to watch each film or documentary virtually alongside other attendees at their scheduled times and join us in the Q&As after.

Will there be a Q&A with filmmakers after the films?

There will be a Q&A with guests. Q&As will feature filmmakers and guests with a moderator. Audiences will be able to type in questions and questions will be selected by the moderator.

How can I watch the film on my TV?

Films are available to watch on a TV by connecting your computer to your TV using an HDMI cord (after you pull up the film on your computer). If you have a smart TV, you can access an internet browser directly and enter the URL and password for the film (which will be sent when the film viewing window opens).

How will I be able to access the live Q&As?

A Zoom link for the live Q&A will be sent along with the film access information.

Joining a Zoom Q&A:

Q&As will take place via Zoom. We recommend downloading the Zoom app in advance onto your computer or smartphone. You can create an account to login, but it is not a requirement.

Click Here to open the Zoom download page or copy and paste the link below into your web browser :

https://zoom.us/download

You can also open Zoom from your web browser. Click Here for instructions on how to open from a web browser or copy and paste the link below into your web browser :

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362593-Launching-Zoom-from-a-web-browser

Notes:

Conversations will become live on the scheduled Q&A start time.

At the scheduled start time, click on the access link sent in the screening email, enter your email and full name, and the conversation will automatically start once all panelists are ready.

When joining a Q&A via Zoom:

Please engage respectfully. Any inappropriate or offensive conduct or comments during the Q&A may cause you to be removed from the Q&A session by our system administrator.

Asking questions during Q&A:

Once the moderator opens the conversation to audience questions, you may submit a question by typing it in the chat function.

If your question is addressed to a specific panelist, please mention who in the beginning of your question.

Please keep questions short and concise.

Please only submit one question.

The moderator will choose which questions to direct to the panelists based on relevance and time restrictions. We cannot guarantee in what order the questions will be answered, nor can we guarantee all questions will be addressed.