In recognition of Black History Month 2022, RespectAbility is thrilled to partner with the NAACP Hollywood Bureau on a virtual film screening series throughout the month of February, titled Black Excellence, amplifying work created by Black and Disabled filmmakers in our network, including alumni of RespectAbility’s Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities. Stay tuned for more featured filmmakers and their work as we continue to share throughout the month!
Juliet Romeo
Juliet Romeo, a disabled Afro-Caribbean award-winning writer/director and 2021 Lab alumna, creates content for television and film that focuses on women-centered empowerment, and social issues that bring awareness and amplify diverse and different voices. She uses her life experience as a Caribbean woman of color with a nonvisible, chronic pain disability to create unique and authentic narratives that touch people’s lives in positive ways. Noticing the need for more accessibility in mainstream film festivals, Juliet founded the UNSTOPPABLE Films program promoting disability and diversity inclusion in film. The program made its debut for Slamdance Film Festival 2021 with record-breaking numbers.
Watch Juliet’s recent documentary short film, “Art of Warriors”
About the film: When a filmmaker’s journey changes course and takes a turn because of the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic, she finds strength in her community of Sickle Cell Warriors. To learn more about Juliet and the making of this film, also check out a short Q&A video moderated by Corey Evans, RespectAbility Entertainment and News Media Apprentice.
Cashmere Jasmine
Director and drama writer Cashmere Jasmine blends genres with dark comedy, anime, and a dash of Plato. She tells disability-inclusive queer stories featuring unexpected anti-heroes you’ll love to hate. This Miami-born creative had her first short film, “Oreo,” accepted to the 2022 Slamdance Film Festival. She is an alumna of RespectAbility’s 2021 Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities. Cashmere also received the Sundance Uprise Grant.
About the trilogy: “Oreo” – Black Card, Girls, Mira & The Other
These shorts feature women of color at various ages and stages of their lives as they experience the moments of being on the “outside” compounded by things like class, race, religion, and colorism. Here we focus on those moments where they choose how to conform or not to conform by standing in their otherness using humor and surrealism. To learn more about Cashmere and the making of her film, “Oreo,” check out this short Q&A video moderated by Corey Evans, RespectAbility Entertainment and News Media Apprentice.
Diana Elizabeth Jordan
Diana Elizabeth Jordan is an award-winning actor, solo artist, theater & filmmaker, artist-educator & disability influencer. She has worked in theater, film, and television including CBS’s S.W.A.T. Diana is also an award-nominated director, a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity Association. She is the founder of the production company Dreaming Big On A Swing Entertainment and the EduTainment company The Rainbow Butterfly Café both founded in 2015. Diana is also an alumna of RespectAbility’s 2020 Summer Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities.
About Diana’s solo show, “Happily Ever After (One Woman’s Journey To Find A True Love)”
Diana Elizabeth Jordan loved to read fairy tales when she was a little girl and grew up believing she too would grow up meet her prince charming and live happily ever after, just like the princesses she used to read about. Her journey to meet her prince charming proved much more challenging after all she didn’t have a talking magic mirror and fairy god mother to give her advice. She sometimes wondered if her disability (cerebral palsy which mildly affects her speech and gait) made her less lovable till the day she discovered a true love was closer to her than she ever imagined. To learn more about Diana and the making of her solo show, check out this short Q&A video moderated by Jacquill Moss, RespectAbility Entertainment Program Coordinator.
Harold Foxx
Harold Foxx is a comedic content creator and actor who happens to be Deaf. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Harold went on to play football for Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. while also earning his B.A. degree. He now resides in Los Angeles, California, and recently created “The Harold Foxx Show,” an online series of comedic video sketches currently available on various social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. Harold is also an alumnus of RespectAbility’s 2021 Summer Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities
About “The Harold Foxx Show”
Harold Foxx is an American theatre, film, television actor, comedian, and writer who happens to be Deaf. He launched “The Harold Foxx Show,” an online entertainment brand featuring comedy skits, which has gained over 80,000 followers on various social media platforms. To learn more about Harold and the making of his comedy content, check out this short Q&A video moderated by Andrew Reid, RespectAbility Entertainment & News Media Apprentice.