We celebrated the work of Jewish disabled writers and filmmakers. Learn from Asha Chai-Chang, a two-time Netflix writer/director Fellow and Emmy nominated producer; Eden Hadad, a writer/director with a penchant for crafting cinematic tales about bad people with good hearts; and Ava Rigelhaupt, a writer, consultant, actress, public speaker, and advocate for disability and autism representation in the entertainment industry. Not only did each panelist complete RespectAbility’s Entertainment Lab, but they also each represent a variety of intersectional identities that make them the writers they are today.
Speakers
Hailing from Charlotte, NC, now based in Los Angeles, Asha Chai-Chang is a Two-Time Netflix Writer/Director Fellow and Emmy nominated producer. Chai-Chang is a Jewish, Afro-Latina, and Caribbean-Asian female director with disabilities. She disrupts stigmas throughout the entertainment industry by creating accessible and inclusive sets for productions and advocating for diverse storytelling. A Yale graduate, former finance professional, and Co-Founder of Slamdance Unstoppable – an academy award qualifying film program dedicated to uplifting films with or by disabled talent and filmmakers – Chai-Chang impacts positive change beyond the silver screen. Simultaneously on screen, films she has written and directed have been recognized by Oscar-qualifying film festivals and the NAACP. Chai-Chang is creating a preschool animated Spanish bilingual TV series, WENDY ON WHEELS, followed by her recent trilingual (Spanish, English, ASL) sitcom proof of concept and film, MARQUE DOS, which will premiere at an Academy Award Qualifying Film Festival in 2024.
A high school dropout turned MFA graduate from an Ivy League university, Eden Hadad has proven to his mom that he’s not a complete failure. An immigrant in the U.S. who had to return to Israel, only to find a country split by social justice and now torn by a tragic war, Hadad insists on remaining an optimistic storyteller with a dark sense of humor. A proud alumnus of the RespectAbility and 1IN4 labs, Eden is a Jewish family man with Arab roots from Yemen and Libya. Dealing with ADHD, PTSD, and the occasional unhealthy craving for KFC, Hadad is a writer/director with a penchant for crafting cinematic tales about bad people with good hearts.
Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt (she/her/hers) is a writer, consultant, actress, public speaker, and advocate for disability and autism representation in the entertainment industry. She brings her lived experiences to her work as a Chinese, transracial, Jewish, autistic adoptee – creating a professional niche for herself at the intersections of entertainment, storytelling, inclusion and accessibility! Rigelhaupt is the Autistic Creative Consultant on the Broadway musical, How to Dance in Ohio, based on Alexandra Shiva’s award-winning HBO documentary of the same name. This joyous, family-friendly musical follows seven autistic young adults (authentically cast) at a social skills center in Ohio, as they come of age, forge connections, and prepare for a spring formal dance. Additionally, she’s a writer for PBS Kids upcoming animated series, Carl the Collector. It features neurodiverse and autistic characters! She’s wrote and consulted on other kids’ tv series, many produced by 9Story Media, but can’t say what yet!
Moderator: Lauren Appelbaum is the SVP, Entertainment & News Media, at RespectAbility. Drawing upon her background in broadcast journalism and as an individual with an acquired nonapparent disability – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy – she works at the intersection of disability, employment, entertainment industry, and politics. From entertainment professionals to presidential campaigns, she has conducted trainings on the why and how to be more inclusive and accessible. A big part of Appelbaum’s work is to increase hiring initiatives of people with disabilities behind the camera and to enrich the pool of disabled talent in Hollywood by connecting them to those who can assist with their careers, both on the creative and business sides of the industry. She is a founder of RespectAbility’s Entertainment Lab and Children’s Content Lab, with goals of building the disability community within the industry and connecting Lab Fellows to opportunities as writers, directors, and in below-the-line positions. She is a recipient of the 2020 Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award for her work creating the Entertainment Lab. This work helps increase diverse and authentic representation of disabled people on screen, leading to systemic change in how society views and values disabled individuals.
Will these run at other times, for those of us who are already committed to something else at the time of this presentation?
It won’t run at another time, but it will be recorded and shared to our website within a week of the webinar.