Los Angeles, April 19, 2021 – Barry Shore, the Ambassador of JOY of who is a former quadriplegic, stars in his own segment of “What Do You Pray For?” The film was made by Ben Rosloff, a talented emerging filmmaker on the Autism spectrum who serves as a Jewish Inclusion Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program. [continue reading…]
Jake Stimell
In 2010, I began my journey at Camp Bauercrest. I had been visiting camp for a long time, as my brother and father were both proud alumni. My attendance at camp was always destined to be. However, as a person with a physical disability causing low muscle tone, it was far from clear that I would find my Jewish home at a sports camp.
Prior to going to camp, I was an awkward middle school student. I did not have many friends and was not particularly happy at home. Camp, at the beginning, was not much different. I broke my wrist and was forced to cut my first summer short. I had trouble making friends and was the least athletic kid in camp, making me feel like an outsider. [continue reading…]
The Miracle Project was founded in 2004 by Elaine Hall, a Jewish woman who felt compelled to ensure that all people with disabilities felt accepted, included and loved. She created this organization to pass her love of the arts on to other people who feel the same. Hall’s desire for working with people with disabilities started when her own child was diagnosed with Autism at a young age. She wanted to make sure that all people with disabilities, specifically those diagnosed with Autism, feel included in society and in anything they do. Additionally, many of these people have felt judged or bullied by peers at school or in social settings. Therefore, Hall has worked tirelessly to create this “safe space” for people to come and be whoever they truly want to be without fear of judgment. [continue reading…]
Roque Gregorio Renteria
Roque Gregorio Renteria is an Entertainment Media Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program for Winter 2020-2021. RespectAbility is a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community. He has consulted on several scripts for media conglomerates such as Netflix, Sony, and Disney.
Renteria was born in Los Angeles, California. Growing up he was glued to the television screen and quickly developed a love for storytelling. Since both his parents are originally from Mexico, he was able to enjoy stories in both English and Spanish, which helped him appreciate foreign films early on.
At the age of 14, he had a spinal cord injury, which left him partially paralyzed, but on the bright side he got a brand-new wheelchair. Seeing the world from a new perspective Renteria started to write jokes about his predicament. This led him to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. He has been featured on Comedy Central, Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle II, and Amazon Prime. And, if he can find a pit crew to accompany him, he travels and performs comedy both locally and internationally.
Renteria graduated from California State University, Long Beach where he majored in English. During that time, he was involved with student activism involving better accessibility and guest lectured on the subject of representation of disability in mass media. He later graduated from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television with an MFA in Screenwriting. He has used his training as a screenwriter to write for Comedy Central, SoulPancake, and co-wrote short films for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. Renteria enjoys telling jokes and deconstructing institutions on stage. When he’s not performing across the country, you can find him pushing around the streets of Los Angeles. And when he is not pushing, he is locked in his room trying to write his next page. He believes that laughter is great medicine, but you should consult with your doctor to see if his comedy is right for you. [continue reading…]
Kiah Amara
Based in NYC, Kiah (they/she) is a filmmaker, consultant, educator, producer, Production Accessibility Coordinator, and media industry activist Their work focuses on identity, fluidity, commonality, misconception, and all things “deviant from normal” – stories from the Disability, LGBTQ+, and Underrepresented Gender Communities as well as Accessibility as a production need for all. As a person with Peripheral Neuropathic UCTD, they have a unique ability to connect to Disability intersections from Spoonie/Chronic Illness and Neurodiversity to Mobility, Vision, and Non-Verbal Communication.
Kiah’s background in disability art and education working with nonprofits like Penguin Project, Chicago Children’s Theatre, New York City Children’s Theatre, Co/Lab, Actionplay, and others, impacts the scope of their work ensuring inclusive learning is an integral part of every space they create or step into. Her education and outreach work presents research backed data that prioritizes intersectionality and flexibility as a tool to promote initiatives that uplift community wellness while creating a higher quality and more inclusive product. Their consulting experience includes indie features, shorts, web series, and commercial projects, accessible deliverables like captions and audio description, production access, websites, and social media via RespectAbility and their production company IndieVISIBLE Entertainment. Kiah has spoken at The Met, MoMA, S&P Global, ReelAbilities NY, and many more.
They continue to push for Production Access Coordinators to be included on all productions irrespective of Disability involvement and advocate the need for authenticity and diversity in the media industry. Kiah is a member of RespectAbility’s National Speaker’s Bureau, a 2021 RespectAbility Entertainment Media Fellow, and a 2020 Dance/NYC Disability and Social Justice Fellow. www.indievisibleentertainment.com
Andrew Reid
Andrew Reid was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. He is a DGA Award winning director and recent graduate from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. His award-winning projects have screened at Slamdance, CAA Moebius, Paramount Pictures, LA Shorts, HollyShorts and over 40 other film festivals worldwide.
Reid is developing both narrative feature and episodic projects that have received support from the Tribeca Film Institute, Film Independent, The Gotham and Sloan Foundation. He was a director in the 2020 class of Film Independent’s Project Involve and RespectAbility Summer Lab program. He is a recipient of the Easterseals Disability Services Fellowship and is represented at APA.
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Lesley Hennen
Lesley Hennen is a writer, producer, and recovering publicist currently based in Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and is also a graduate of The Second City’s Harold Ramis Film School, where she honed her niche of telling female-driven dark comedies, often inspired by her own life experiences of living with a physical disability. Lesley’s original pilot script, Uninspired, won “Best of Fest” at the 2020 Women in Comedy Festival’s “Pitch Your First Five Pages” competition, presented by HBO, and recently advanced to the Quarterfinalist stage of Atlanta Film Festival’s 2021 Screenplay Competition. Lesley’s original pilot script, Walk & Roll also recently placed as a Finalist in WeScreenplay’s Diverse Voices Lab, WeScreenplay’s TV Pilot Contest, as well as a Semifinalist in ScreenCraft’s TV Pilot Contest. [continue reading…]
Leah Romond. Photo by Liz Bretz
Los Angeles, CA, April 15 – Since its premiere at SXSW 2021, the feature film Best Summer Ever has been making waves in the entertainment industry for its authentic representation and inclusion of people with disabilities both in front of and behind the camera, all wrapped up in an energetic and joy-filled musical. RespectAbility recently had the chance to interview one of the film’s producers, Leah Romond, who is also a current Senior Production Advisor at RespectAbility. Romond speaks openly about her experiences with traumatic brain injury, pivoting from law to producing in entertainment, and working at RespectAbility.
In 2012 Romond had mononucleosis, which turned into viral encephalitis that resulted in a brain injury due to brain inflammation. She explained her experience as living with one brain for part of her life and after the injury, being given a completely different brain. Before the injury, “my brain was like a super computer, very detail oriented. As an attorney, I had to keep a lot of facts in my brain and be able to recall them at a moment’s notice,” Romond said. [continue reading…]
Shannon DeVido
Los Angeles, CA, April 14 – Shannon DeVido, a multi-hyphenated talent, is an actress, comedian and writer. Her body of work spans several mediums, but the connective tissue coalescing her diverse pursuits is her wicked, introspective sense of humor. Most recently, DeVido showcases her wide range of talents with a starring role in the new feature film, Best Summer Ever—a musical with a majority of talent with disabilities both in front of and behind the camera.
Hailing from Philadelphia, DeVido was born with spinal muscular atrophy. Disappointed by her prospects of becoming a famous athlete, DeVido found theatre at an early age, introducing her to the world of performance and entertainment. [continue reading…]
Washington, D.C., April 13 – RespectAbility, in partnership with 193 leading brands, nonprofits and cultural leaders including MTV Entertainment Group, today announced the first-ever Mental Health Action Day, to be held on Thursday, May 20 during Mental Health Awareness Month.
Over the past two decades, suicide rates have risen, particularly among young adults. And the COVID pandemic has accelerated the already dire crisis, giving way to what many mental health professionals have called the “second pandemic.” [continue reading…]
