Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Park City, January 16 – With one-in-five people having a disability in the U.S. today, the lack of representation – just 1.9 percent of characters in the 100 top-grossing films of 2022 and 8 percent in family films – means that millions of people are unable to see themselves reflected in media.
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival (January 18 – 28) will provide an opportunity for audiences with various disabilities to see themselves represented – both in-person and virtually.
This year, several films feature disability in the plot, including A Different Man, FRIDA, Ibelin, Out of My Mind, The Outrun, Stress Positions, Suncoast, and Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, among others.
Ensuring an Accessible Festival
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival returns to a mostly in-person festival with most films available for screening virtually as well. According to Sundance, the festival is committed to providing audio description (AD) wherever possible and a minimum of one open caption in-person screening per title when available. According to their website, 26 feature-length films include AD for blind and low-vision viewers; this is an increase from 22 in 2023. Attendees can filter films through the website to determine if the film offers open captions, audio description, and/or closed captioning. Attendees also can filter to learn which films have a photosensitivity warning, which can help those who need it identify if the film contains flashing scenes. In addition, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) transcription at Institute events will be offered at events upon reasonable request. Learn more on Sundance’s website. For questions, the accessibility team can be reached via email at accessibility@sundance.org or by using the accessibility hotline at 435-776-7790.
Sundance Institute participates in the Film Event Accessibility Scorecard to increase data collection within the Film Event Industry and to provide an opportunity for individuals to share anonymous feedback. This is a tool created and managed by FWD-Doc, a group of filmmakers with disabilities and active allies. Visit the FWD-Doc Website for more information about this initiative.
Below please find a guide to several of the films featuring disability in the plot or talent with disabilities.
Feature (U.S. Documentary Competition): FRIDA – Premieres January 18, 3:30 pm MT
Frida Kahlo. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Lucienne Bloch.
An intimately raw and magical journey through the life, mind, and heart of iconic artist Frida Kahlo. Told through her own words for the very first time — drawn from her diary, revealing letters, essays, and print interviews — and brought vividly to life by lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork. Open caption screening on January 23. Available online. This film contains nudity.
Feature (U.S. Dramatic Competition): Stress Positions – Premieres January 18, 3:45 pm MT
Terry Goon is keeping strict quarantine in his ex-husband’s Brooklyn brownstone while caring for his nephew — a 19-year-old model from Morocco named Bahlul — bedridden in a full leg cast after an electric scooter accident. Unfortunately for Terry, everyone in his life wants to meet the model. Open caption screening on January 25. Available online.
Feature (World Cinema Documentary Competition): Ibelin – Premieres January 18, 4:00 pm MT
Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world. Open caption screening on January 20. Available online.
Feature (Family Matinee): Out of My Mind – Premieres January 19, 11:00 am MT
Phoebe-Rae Taylor appears in Out of My Mind. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Photo by Noah Greenberg.
Melody Brooks (Phoebe-Rae Taylor) is navigating sixth grade as a nonverbal wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy. With the help of some assistive technology and her devoted, exuberant allies, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it. Open caption screening on January 27. Only available in person.
Feature (Premieres): The Outrun – Premieres January 19, 6:00 pm MT
After living life on the edge in London, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands — where she grew up — hoping to heal. Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot. Open caption screening on January 20. Only available in person. This film contains strobe effects.
Feature (Premieres): Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Premieres January 21, 9:00 am MT
Never-before-seen home movies and extraordinary personal archives reveal how Christopher Reeve went from unknown actor to iconic movie star as the ultimate screen superhero. He learned the true meaning of heroism as an activist after suffering a tragic accident that left him quadriplegic and dependent on a ventilator to breathe. Open caption screening on January 24. Only available in person.
Feature (U.S. Dramatic Competition): Suncoast – Premieres January 21, 3:00 pm MT
A teenager who, while caring for her brother along with her audacious mother, strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist who is protesting one of the most landmark medical cases of all time. Inspired by a semi-autobiographical story. Open caption screening on January 24. Available online. This film contains strobe effects.
Feature (Premieres): A Different Man – Premieres January 21, 8:00 pm MT
Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost. Open caption screening on January 26. Only available in person. This film contains graphic nudity.
Talent with Disabilities
When actors and directors disclose a nonapparent disability, such as a learning disability or mental health condition, they help normalize these disabilities in both the entertainment industry and for the general public who consume their content. In some cases, actors with disabilities appear in films that do not necessarily have disability in the plot. In several of these instances, actors with disabilities are playing roles that have nothing to do with their disability.
- A Real Pain director, screenwriter, producer, and actor Jesse Eisenberg has anxiety, producer Emma Stone has asthma, and actress Jennifer Grey had cancer and spinal cord issues following a car crash.
- Emma Stone, who has asthma, also produced I Saw the TV Glow. Actress Phoebe Bridgers has depression and anxiety.
- A Different Man actor Adam Pearson has neurofibromatosis. Actress Renate Reinsve has PTSD.
- Animated film 10 Lives features several disabled actors including Dylan Llewellyn, who is dyslexic; Zayn Malik, who had an eating disorder and anxiety; and Bill Nighy, who continues to deal with substance abuse and alcoholism.
- My Old Ass actress Aubrey Plaza had a stroke when she was 20 years old that caused temporary paralysis and temporary expressive aphasia. A couple of years later, she had a transient ischemic attack while on the set of Parks and Recreation.
- Rob Peace actress Mary J. Blige has dealt with drug and alcohol addiction, and as of 2019, she had been sober for several years. Actress Camila Cabello has anxiety and OCD.
- Hit Man producer Jason Bateman dealt with substance abuse and addiction for about a decade when he was younger.
- Luther: Never Too Much focuses on the life of Luther Vandross, who had diabetes and hypertension. Vandross had a stroke in 2003, was in a coma for 2 months, and used a wheelchair during recovery.
- The subject of the documentary Never Look Away, Margaret Moth, died of colon cancer. The film’s director Lucy Lawless had bulimia as a child.
- Two productions feature actors with ADHD: Victoria Pedretti in Ponyboi and Julia Fox in Presence. In addition, after a suicide attempt at age 16, Fox was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
