Los Angeles, July 8 – Amber Espinosa-Jones manages the Outreach & Inclusion department of the Sundance Institute, where her team runs Fellowships, facilitates intensives, and oversees grants. Further, she is a driving force in the support of Sundance’s initiatives for diverse talent like the Director’s Lab, Editing Lab, and the Producing Program. She recently spoke at RespectAbility’s Entertainment Lab, sharing advice on how to participate in Sundance Institute’s various programs.

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“For years the industry has talked about diversity and inclusion and representation, and every single time we have been left out of the conversation…and that time is over.” – Steve Way

Steve Way

Los Angeles, July 8 – Steve Way is a substitute teacher by day and a stand-up comedian by night in the New York and New Jersey areas. He also stars in the webseries, Uplifting Dystrophy and is a cast member of the renewed Hulu series Ramy, a show that was co-created by Way’s real-life collaborator and friend, Ramy Youssef. Recently, Way spoke to RespectAbility’s 2021 Lab participants, and shared some insightful observations and advice that he has acquired during his journey in the entertainment industry.

Youssef and Way began their early entry to the entertainment industry together in a TV and broadcasting high school course, where the two were exposed to the resources needed to produce at an advanced level. As their projects elevated in quality and in audience, Youssef’s inclusion of Way in the script and eventual casting in Ramy was only natural. Against the instinct of Youssef’s co-creators, Way’s audition to play the role of himself in the series was undeniably euphoric. [continue reading…]

David Renaud

Los Angeles, July 8 – Family doctor turned TV writer, David Renaud has fought his way to the top of the Hollywood industry. Now as supervising producer of ABC’s The Good Doctor, Renaud looked back on his journey with the RespectAbility 2021 Summer Lab participants.

For Renaud, story is king and he credits his unique story for the position he holds today. Renaud always knew he wanted to be a filmmaker, but his journey was unconventional as he started out in medical school determined to find the cure for his paralysis. After a car crash left him paralyzed from the waist down, Renaud began using a wheelchair, and eventually went on to earn his MD from the University of British Columbia. Renaud was always a storyteller and eventually found his way to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he completed his MFA in screenwriting. Since then, Renaud has found huge success as a writer on shows such as Blood and Oil, Pure Genius, and most recently The Good Doctor. [continue reading…]

Megan Halpern

Los Angeles, July 7 – During a recent session of RespectAbility’s 2021 Summer Lab, participants were joined by Megan Halpern, VP of Programs, Partnerships and Production at The Black List, along with a group of screenwriters and 2019 and 2020 Summer Lab alumni, Shireen Alihaji, Michael Dougherty, Shea Mirzai and Andrew Reid, in a conversation focused on writing for film.

The Black List is a script hosting service for unproduced screenplays, which originally started in 2005 by releasing the list of their top-ranked scripts for each year. Since then, the site has gone on to host scripts from Blockbuster hits, including Juno, Argo and The King’s Speech. Now in 2021, the platform has converted into a full-blown online community for screenwriters. Applicants can host their scripts on the site and receive relevant feedback from other screenwriters, as well as be matched with producers and directors interested in bringing their writing to life. The Black List also has evolved into a writing lab for underrepresented communities where they can be mentored by industry professionals. [continue reading…]

“Andrew and I have been partners for a few years now, and to me, we are like the dream team, because the things that I have challenges with are his strengths, and vice versa.” – Leah Romond, Senior Production Advisor at RespectAbility

Los Angeles, July 7 – Leah Romond and Andrew Pilkington were both producers on the recent feature film, Best Summer Ever, which authentically sourced disabled talent throughout its cast and crew and premiered at the 2021 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. This dream team duo is powered by balance: Pilkington’s organizational skills help Romond with detail-oriented sequencing, and Romond’s legal background allowed them to direct sales and needed documentation. The film was celebrated for Pilkington’s momentous work as a writer and was honored with the Final Draft Screenwriters Award at SXSW. Best Summer Ever’s representation in front of and behind the screen fights employment stigmas against people with disabilities and is a strong example of what an inclusive production can and should look like.

A plot that is not centered around the essence of disability, but rather one which engages naturally with nuanced stories of diverse characters is a distinctively empowered quality of the film. Best Summer Ever proves that a coming-of-age narrative, a classic love story, and even an adventure tale, are all cinematic developments that need not be exclusive from the disabled community. [continue reading…]

Los Angeles, July 2 – Benjamin Rosloff, a talented filmmaker on the Autism spectrum who served as a Jewish Inclusion Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program, has created an unprecedented short documentary film that is a compilation of his one-on-one interviews with Jews with disabilities. The short film features deep insights and fabulous emotions as people answer the very personal question, “What do you pray for?”

“What Do You Pray For?” is both a short documentary film and mini-series of short interviews of Jews with disabilities who tell viewers in their own words what they pray for and what prayer means to them. The project features Jews with various disabilities from across the United States, with a myriad of different connections to their Jewish identity. [continue reading…]

“The Women’s Rabbinic Network (WRN) is a constituent group of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). It was created in 1975 by a group of female rabbinic students to provide the support and advocacy needed in the early years of women in the Reform rabbinate. Since then, the organization has grown to include over 700 women reform rabbis who have been ordained since 1972 at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The WRN has consistently worked to promote the personal and professional growth of female rabbis and rabbinic students within the Reform Movement. Women Rabbis have had a profound impact on the world Jewish community. We have contributed to the growth of feminist biblical commentary and midrash, and have paved the path for ritual innovation and creativity. As rabbis in congregations, in Hillels, as chaplains in geriatric and hospital settings, as educators, teachers, healers, professors and poets, we are all making a significant contribution to our community.”

“At Gateways, we believe that every Jewish child deserves access to Jewish education and community. Gateways provides high quality special education services, expertise and support to enable students with diverse learning needs to participate meaningfully in Jewish life and learning. Now in our second decade, we serve individuals, families, educators, day and congregational schools, preschools, synagogues, and organizations to promote the meaningful inclusion of individuals of all abilities in Jewish life. We exist to fulfill young people’s potential, enrich family life, strengthen Greater Boston’s Jewish community, and help create new norms for diversity and inclusivity in the Jewish community at large.”

Emily Borses

Emily Borses is a 21-year-old aspiring filmmaker based in Los Angeles who is also part of RespectAbility’s Speaking and Training Bureau. Emily’s family is very artsy, especially her dad. When she was growing up, he introduced her to 60’s-era punk rock music like Led Zeppelin, Heart, ZZ Top, and The Foo Fighters. She also developed an appreciation for writing, poetry, and photography, all of which are essential components of film! It wasn’t until Emily was watching the film Juno with her dad, and deeply analyzing the way Elliot Page portrayed his character, that her dad pointed out that she would be great at filmmaking and analysis.

Even as she was discovering her artistic passion, Emily was living with an anxiety disorder that was not diagnosed until her junior year of high school. Looking retrospectively at her childhood in light of the diagnosis, she realized that film has really been a key component to her recovery and a coping skill for her anxiety. [continue reading…]