Los Angeles, April 9, 2021 – Alex Howard, a talented filmmaker who lives with a rare mitochondrial disorder called MePAN, 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…]
Los Angeles, April 9, 2021 – Ben Rosloff, a talented filmmaker, storyteller, and actor who lives with autism, stars in his own segment of “What Do You Pray For?” The film series was created by Rosloff, who serves as a Jewish Inclusion Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program. [continue reading…]
Los Angeles, April 9, 2021 – Blair Webb, a former Jewish Inclusion Fellow at RespectAbility who lives with Cerebral Palsy, stars in her 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…]
Los Angeles, April 9, 2021 – Joshua Steinberg, the Program Associate for RespectAbility California and Jewish Leadership who lives with learning disabilities, including Attention Deficit Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Tourette’s Syndrome and mild Bipolar Disorder, 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…]
Los Angeles, April 9, 2021 – Samantha Elisofon, a talented actress who lives with autism, stars in her 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…]
Los Angeles, April 9, 2021 – Lee Chernotsky, a talented CEO who lives with ADHD and has created innovative opportunities in Los Angeles and beyond for people with disabilities and their families, 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…]
On April 8 we observe Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and remember the 11 million people who perished throughout the Holocaust. When we think about the Holocaust, we generally think about the 6 million Jewish people that were killed. But there were other populations that were targeted in the Holocaust: Roma, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities. [continue reading…]
Washington, D.C., April 1 – 13-year-old Israel Thomas-Bruce has not had the opportunity to see himself represented on TV in the way that many other children may have. That is changing with the addition of a new neighbor in Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood – Max, Teacher Harriet’s autistic nephew.
The show authentically cast Thomas-Bruce, who was diagnosed with autism when he was four years old, as Max. Thomas-Bruce said this experience gave him “an extra boost of confidence.” [continue reading…]
Los Angeles, April 1 – A Warner Bros. blockbuster film starring CGI monsters of mayhem and destruction is now being streamed across the world in living rooms, dorms, and select doomsday bunkers that just so happen to have Wi-Fi, as Godzilla vs. Kong goes live on their streaming service, HBO Max.
Godzilla vs. Kong is exactly what you want from a giant monster movie. It has a fast-moving story, a couple of funny moments, and most importantly, epic monster fights that show just how tiny humans are by comparison to their skyscraper-like sizes. Overall, it’s a pretty by-the-books monster movie. One where you can just sit back and enjoy the destruction and be thankful you don’t live in a coastal city.
There aren’t a lot of surprises in this movie, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Not every film has to have twists and turns that keep you guessing throughout the duration of the movie. Sometimes two monsters just throwing hands in order to determine who the most powerful being on Earth is, is enough. However, there is one pleasant surprise in this film, and it is the performance given by Kaylee Hottle, who was just 9 years old when she filmed Godzilla vs. Kong. [continue reading…]
Los Angeles, April 1 – The theme of this year’s Easterseals Disability Film Challenge was “mockumentary,” and RespectAbility 2020 Summer Lab alumna Rachel Handler and Catriona Rubenis-Stevens’s comedic satire balanced with an inspired message truly champions their short film, So You Wanna Be an Actor, as a vehicle to promote authentic disability inclusion in entertainment. As director, writer, producer and lead actress of the film, Handler’s creative direction helped her filmmaking team highlight how limiting the casting process in Hollywood can often be for people with disabilities, all in under five minutes.
During one of the film’s opening scenes, the camera angle is focused only on a prosthetic leg of an aspiring young actress, to which this rising star responds, “Hey, my eyes are up here.” Not only is this a hilarious juxtaposition of dialogue because of the phrase’s more adult connotations, it also is a satirical metaphor that shows how cinematic objectification is truly intersectional and isn’t exclusive to sexualization. [continue reading…]
