Festival Shines Spotlight on Disabled Actors

Welcome back to The Staged Stigma of Disability! Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read my first entry, it was written with a lot of love and energy. To put myself out there and be open about my experiences being a physically limited actor was not easy for sure and I had a lot of different feelings in me as I hit post, mainly feeling exposed and vulnerable, but I am SO thrilled and excited that it received such as warm reaction. I have a lot of things planned for this blog, including something special I will be unveiling very soon! Thank you for the support, it means a lot.

Now, onto today's post!


Recently I came across the ReelAbilities Film Festival. This is a festival that happens yearly in cities across America including Los Angeles (which was held over this past weekend), New York, Houston, Boston, Chicago, and others, that is completely dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities.

At the recent three day festival in Los Angeles, the film "The Peanut Butter Falcon" starring actors Shia LeBouf and Zack Gottsagen (who has Down Syndrome), opened the event, and you can watch the trailer for the film below.


After the film premiered, the festivals co-director, Michael Dougherty, who like me lives with Spina Bifida, stated in an interview that movies saved his life:
"And they gave me a window into a world that was beyond hospitals, and beyond the playground where I was getting bullied and it made me think and hope that there was something for me outside of where I grew up."
For me what most rings true is the festivals tagline, "Disability is Diversity". I get chills even reading those words. To know that this festival even exists and is giving a voice to actors with disabilities and other limitations is a big step in the right direction in giving them the attention they so rightly deserve.

I hope to go to the ReelAbilities Festival the next time it comes through Northern Virginia, and wish it nothing but all of the success that it so rightfully deserves. Thank you for bringing these actors and films to peoples attention.

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