Hollywood Inclusion Archives - Page 10 of 58

Key art for Abled documentary featuring a shot of Blake Leeper running next to train tracks

Abled Redefines Inspiration While Its Subject Redefines World Class Running

Abled is an inspirational film but it is not inspiration porn. This documentary, which is part of the 2023 Dances with Films festival, follows Paralympian Blake Leeper training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games while he is in a legal battle with the World Athletics on whether his prosthetic legs give him an advantage. He is a 400-meter runner who competed in both disabled and nondisabled spaces throughout college and into his professional career, until he ran 400-meters in under 45 seconds. Once he crossed the 45 seconds line, he was on par with any world class nondisabled runner, and World Athletics claimed that he was technologically doping. However, the organization did not need to prove that claim; instead, they shifted the burden of proof to Leeper; he had to prove that the prosthetics did not give him an advantage. He had to disprove ableist assumptions rather than the institution having to back up its ableist thinking. This documentary shows Leeper trying to prove that his advantage comes from hard work and dedication, not his equipment.

Inspiration Porn is one of the most common problematic portrayals of disability in media. It is using people with disabilities to inspire non-disabled people and creates a view that disabled people are less than. Disabled people face so many challenges in their everyday lives that doing anything that nondisabled people can do including everyday tasks is viewed as inspirational. Abled shows an interesting reversal. Leeper’s disability is seen as an advantage as soon as he is able to compete with the best nondisabled athletes in the world. Leeper discusses how this shift happens, “the message that they are sending is disabled human beings across the board are less than us. Because you are less than you should never be faster than me. If you are faster than its technological doping not training or hard work or effort.” While the conclusions are opposite, the core ableist thinking is the same. [continue reading…]

Male character Theo looking into a bathroom mirror and obsessing over the health of his mouth

For the Safety of Theo: A Realistic Depiction of OCD

The indie short For the Safety of Theo had its world premiere at the world-famous TCL Chinese Theater as part of Dances with Films Festival, and it’s not hard to see why it was selected.

For the Safety of Theo follows a young man with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who must purge himself of the consequences of a casual hook-up from the night before in order to regain his sense of stability. It takes an unflinching look on his meticulous routine as well as what happens when someone disrupts it.

The story is largely inspired by writer/director Christopher Macken’s own lived experience with OCD. Said Macken, “It’s a constant disappointment how OCD is portrayed in film and TV; Often stereotyped as ‘being organized’ or ‘keeping things tidy,’ when in fact, that barely scratches the surface. Most people don’t realize how painful living with OCD can be, not only for the person overrun by their compulsions, but for the people around them—specifically in their sexual and romantic relationships.” [continue reading…]

Bentonville Film Festival Features Disabled Creators and Talent

The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) took to the screens – both live in Arkansas and virtual on computers and TV sets throughout the country – for its ninth year. Chaired by Academy Award winner Geena Davis, BFF champions women and diverse voices.

According to festival programmers, “over 30% of the (competition) program is comprised of creators with disabilities” and “25% (of onscreen leads) represent talent with disabilities.” This is an increase from 2021, when eight percent of the directors, four percent of the writers, and four percent of the leads identified as having a disability.

Below please find a guide to several of the films featuring disability in the plot or talent with disabilities. A majority of BFF offerings are available virtually through Sunday, June 25. [continue reading…]

Review of “The Cab”: The Fantastical Mind of Depression

CW: suicide, depression

Behind-the-scenes still from "The Cab" production with a taxi cab and a large pile of sand. Directed by Nicole Melillo, the fantasy short The Cab took home the Jury Award for Best Short Film at the 2023 Bentonville Film Festival. With its fresh take on mental health, the short film’s praise is well-deserved. [continue reading…]

Unconscious Ableism in “My Eyes Are Up Here”

My Eyes Are Up Here is an odyssey to get the morning after pill. How could a short film be an odyssey? When a disabled woman of color needs to travel to a pharmacy for the morning after pill, the number of obstacles and quick assumptions she has to face parallels those of Odysseus. The short film was part of the 2023 Bentonville Film Festival – a festival focused on promoting underrepresented voices in entertainment.

A high-profile model Sonya (Jillian Mercado) wakes up from a one-night stand with a clumsy man named Tom (Ben Cura). Quickly, they discover that she will need to take the morning after pill, so Sonya begins the journey to get it with Tom as her unwanted sidekick. As Sonya goes about her business, you witness the numerous ableist situations and people Sonya has to deal with every day. There is only an unstable makeshift ramp to get out of Tom’s building. The ride-sharing service is inaccessible. Obnoxious women will not move their shopping bags out of the accessible area on the bus. None of these moments are surprising to Sonya, as they are the reality of being visibly disabled in our society. However, through Tom’s now-open eyes, a day in the life for Sonya is an extensive journey. [continue reading…]

“A Journey with My Dad”: A Surrealist Trip Towards Acceptance

After being financed by the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund, Voyage avec mon pere, translated to A Journey With My Dad, premiered at the 2023 Bentonville Film Festival in the Competition Animation Films category.

The hand-drawn animated short follows a precocious 5 year old girl named Tamar as she accompanies her dad to a hotel for a vacation. Tamar is overjoyed to jump into the pool with all the other father and daughter duos, but grows increasingly impatient when her dad struggles to blow enough air into her floatie. She jumps in and is filled with curiosity upon seeing a man with one leg swimming underneath. Her curiosity is cut short when her dad pulls her out of the water. He gives her a menacing glare as he catches his breath. [continue reading…]

Still from Fish with a man holding a fish in a glass bowl

Grieving with a GoldFISH

What if your mom came back as a fish? Current Entertainment and News Media Fellow and Entertainment Lab Alumnus Jeremy Hsing’s most recent short, FISH, answers that question. His answers led him to win a Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Astoria Film Festival last weekend.

We meet Tiger, played beautifully by co-writer Patrick Zhang, while he is listening to voicemails from his estranged and recently deceased mom. All of a sudden, the fish keeping him company from a far begins to speak, and he realizes that it is his mom reincarnated. Inspired by Everything Everywhere All At Once, Hsing and Zhang were interested in “finding an absurd premise and taking it very seriously.” This story asks big questions around grief and self-acceptance while creating comedic moments that are bound to happen when a son is talking to his fish/mom.

One of these hilarious scenes happens when Tiger is fighting with his mom about ordering scallion pancakes over her request to order fish. On the surface, the whole scene is absurd, but simultaneously the argument gives the audience a glimpse at generational differences that exist in this relationship. This scene, in context with the rest of the short, is clearly a metaphorical fight about Tiger’s sexuality. [continue reading…]

Resource Guide: WGA Strike

On May 2, 2023, after failing to come to an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (which includes 350+ TV and film studios and production companies), the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike – stopping all writing projects and bringing many Hollywood productions to a halt.

Since 2018, screenwriters’ pay has gone down about 20%. Additionally, writers are no longer receiving residuals (a percentage of the profit a show makes after it premieres) after their shows go on streaming platforms. Many writers are struggling to make enough money to live. With more than half of American households “cutting the cord” and only buying streaming services, along with the rise of AI technology capable of writing scripts, the concerns around writers’ wages only continue to grow. Writers are seeking a new contract with studios to protect their livelihood given the changing technological landscape.

The major WGA demands include:

Increased minimum compensation for writers
Residual agreements for streaming platforms
Addressing the abuse of mini-rooms – a small writers’ room that works for a short period of time before a show has been approved by a studio allowing studios to pay writers less money and not keep writers on contract
Increased contributions to health funds
Regulated use of material made by AI

Learn more: Full List of WGA Demands. [continue reading…]

A Loud Connection: Film Review of Rain in my Head

Summer and sex are here for Chrissy Marshall and her new Easterseals Disability Film Challenge winning short, Rain in my Head. Marshall’s work as a writer/director features two deaf queer lovers, Sarah and Marie, who wander through the quandaries of connection and fulfillment. At the start, Sarah, smoking in the arms of her lover, poses the question: “Do you ever get tired of seeing the glass half full?” Marie answers: “No. We’ve struggled enough. It’s time to be happy.” After the exchange, the film joyfully ambles through a portrait of their lives, holding true to the promise of happiness that Marie speaks of. After all, queer love receiving a happy ending is no small thing. For Rain in my Head, it is the happiness being the end destination that makes it work so well.

In addition to the upbeat ending, the gorgeous movement of the camera and lighting draws us in. It is very apparent that Marshall has homed in on a directing style that is clear and effective. Her film drew accolades from the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge for that as well. [continue reading…]

Deaf Actress Shaylee Mansfield Shines in “The Company You Keep”

Shaylee Mansfield wearing headphones in a scene from a new episode of "The Company You Keep"

Credit: ABC/Raymond Liu

Los Angeles, May 1 – A recent study by NRG and Deaf West Theater shows at least 79% of deaf consumers believe that there has been more representation of their community in TV and film compared to a year ago. One actress contributing to this representation across genres is Shaylee Mansfield. At just 14 years of age, Mansfield is quickly becoming a household name and role model for all children.

“I’m grateful to have a platform that will give not only Deaf children, but all children to freely speak up, to fight for what they want, and to be fully themselves even if it is not ‘popular,’” Mansfield said in an interview with RespectAbility.

While many of her roles in the past were for children’s shows, Mansfield’s current role is on ABC’s The Company You Keep. She first guest starred as Ollie in the pilot (February 2023), playing cards with her grandfather. [continue reading…]