Bentonville, Arkansas, August 4 – 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 seventh year. Chaired by Academy Award winner Geena Davis, BFF champions women and diverse voices.

According to festival programmers, out of all films selected for this year’s program, eight percent of the directors identify as having a disability, as well as four percent of the writers and four percent of the leads.

Below please find a guide to several of the films featuring disability in the plot or talent with disabilities. [continue reading…]

Narrative Film Selected for Competition Shorts of the Bentonville Film Festival

Washington, D.C., August 4 – An independent Hard-of-Hearing Yemeni-American Director and Cinematographer, Alaa Zabara recognizes the power of media to “change the hearts and minds of an audience, highlight the stories that need to be told, and to amplify the voices of the voiceless.”

Her newest film, Selahy “My Weapon,” is an official selection of the Bentonville Film Festival in Bentonville, Arkansas where it will screen during the first week of August. It will compete within the festival’s Competition Shorts program.

In 2015, Zabara and her family were evacuated from the crisis in Yemen, an event that has shaped her life and her storytelling goals as a filmmaker. To Zabara, it is important that audiences relate to her not as a filmmaker but as a human, “filling the distance that comes between each of us.” [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, August 4 – There’s no denying that the intersection of comedy and disability is historically shrouded in stereotypes and misinformation; however, this is far from the case with writer and actor Anna Marr’s latest short film, Walking Through Peanut Butter. With a run time of just under nine minutes, this comedic film inspired by Marr’s own experiences of living with narcolepsy manages to make audiences laugh while simultaneously breaking down false stereotypes of narcolepsy and educating viewers on the overwhelmingly misunderstood neurological sleep disorder.

The film follows a stubborn, overachieving recent college grad named Jessie (played by Marr) as she dives headfirst into the NYC comedy world while still coming to terms with her own narcolepsy diagnosis. During a recent Q&A with Bentonville Film Festival, where Walking Through Peanut Butter will screen during the first week of August, Marr explained that the premise of the film is very similar to her own journey with narcolepsy. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, Aug 4 – When Erica Milsom and Krissy Cababa worked together at Pixar to release the animated short film Loop, they knew they were embarking on new territory. A continuation of a SparkShorts project, where Pixar creators work with a limited schedule and budget to bring a short story to life, Loop is the story of Renee and Marcus who embark on a canoeing journey and must learn to communicate as Renee is autistic and non-verbal.

During a recent RespectAbility Lab session, Cababa and Milsom joined the group to talk about the success and struggles that came with the creation of Loop. “For me, one of the best things about Loop was the fact that we were working with this character Renee, an autistic character, and Pixar had never done that before,” explained director Erica Milsom. “And all the thought that went into all aspects of the short to convey that in a realistic and truthful and honest and respectful way.” [continue reading…]

Ollie Cantos

Last week, I was privileged to have been elected the fourth Chairman of the Board of Directors of RespectAbility, a national non-profit non-partisan organization whose mission is to fight stigmas and advance opportunities so people with all types of disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community.

Thirty-one years ago, the Nation and the world witnessed a historic moment as President George H. W. Bush signed the landmark American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. Resulting from years of advocacy by and for people with all types of disabilities and the organizations that represented them, the ADA marked the culmination of a bipartisan effort that united a number of stakeholders, both large and small, from all across the country. Almost immediately, the walls of discrimination began to come down within the areas of employment; state and local government programs, services, and activities; places of public accommodation; transportation; and telecommunications. [continue reading…]

Rockville, MD, August 3 – While CDC data shows that one in four adults have a disability, a report from the Council on Foundations showed that less than one percent of full-time staff at foundations are people with disabilities. Sadly, foundations are missing the lived experience of people who know the challenges and talents of people with disabilities. Thus, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is supporting RespectAbility’s efforts to enable philanthropy to benefit from the energy, skills, and insights of talented people with disabilities.

The MacArthur Foundation is granting funds for RespectAbility to expand their National Leadership Program to include a diverse talent-pipeline of people with disabilities that will work directly in philanthropy. Participants (Fellows) in this “earn while you learn” program will gain skills and experience while working alongside RespectAbility for the first part of the grant period. They will then transition into a role with a host philanthropic partner in a foundation or philanthropy serving organization (PSO). [continue reading…]

“AJC Los Angeles is the largest field office of American Jewish Committee, the leading global Jewish advocacy organization. AJC LA serves Jewish communities across Southern California and several western states. AJC LA connects local communities with its global mission to combat antisemitism and all forms of hate, strengthen Israel’s place in the world, and defend democratic values. A respected voice in the fight against antisemitism, AJC LA builds enduring relationships with inter-ethnic and interfaith partners to promote intergroup understanding and jointly advocate on shared legislative and policy priorities. AJC LA also has established close working relationships with consuls general and elected officials across California. This essential work is spearheaded by a talented professional staff in partnership with dedicated lay leadership that participate in key policy briefings and join in high-level AJC missions around the world.”

Erika Abbott

Erika Abbott is an intelligent woman and talented writer. Erika’s disability advocacy started in grade school, where she and some friends, eventually including fellow Speaking and Training Bureau member Aaron Seglin, formed the Disabled Posse. The idea, Erika explained, is “when you’re a kid, you are fearless,” and younger kids are more likely to ask questions. But, “by middle school, that’s where the intimidation starts. Everyone’s scared of the things they don’t know.” With Aaron as her voice when she struggled to speak for herself, Erika and the Disabled Posse worked to educate other kids in their school about what it was like to live with a disability, especially at such a young age, and inspire change through their work.

While those days in suburban New Jersey have long passed, Erika’s mission has not. Erika currently lives in Los Angeles and is actively involved in the Jewish community. Because the town she grew up in had such a small number of Jewish families, Erika actively sought friends who shared similarities, which led to some lifelong friendships. [continue reading…]

April Caputi

Los Angeles, CA, July 28 – On the first of two days led by the Walt Disney Company for RespectAbility’s 2021 Summer Lab, participants had the opportunity to speak with 2019 Lab alumna April Caputi about her career journey since graduating from the Lab. Caputi, who previously temped as a Talent Casting Coordinator for Disneyland Live Entertainment before becoming a Casting Assistant for AMC Network’s show This Close (which was created, written by, and starred Deaf actors), joined the Disney team as a part of the Executive Incubator Program.

“One thing that attracted me most about the Lab program was that you get face time with executives from all studios and networks,” Caputi said of her experience with RespectAbility’s Entertainment Lab. “It was my dream to work at Disney and I [was] dying to meet executives who [were] looking to hire people with disabilities, and I wanted to connect my goals with theirs.” [continue reading…]