The largest film festival in the United States that promotes awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with disabilities starts tomorrow. ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York will stream all of its films virtually and in other locations in the NYC Metro Area from April 7 to April 13.  

The festival prides itself on offering full accessibility for everyone. All venues are wheelchair accessible, and films include important accessibility features such as open captions, audio description, live transcription, and ASL interpretation. The festival catalog is also available in braille. 

You can find the full schedule of the festival with films and events here.  For now, here at Dicapta, we wanted to highlight one of the films that will premiere on April 7th, The Other Tom. It is a Mexican production directed by Rodrigo Plá and Laura Santullo. It tackles the story of Elena, a single mother, as she attempts to manage her son Tom’s behavioral issues. With Social Services threatening to remove him from her custody, Elena fights for the well-being of the only person she has.

This festival is a unique hub to promote awareness and appreciation for the many aspects of the lives of people with disabilities. We hope that you can visit ReelAbilities’s website, see their schedule and attend their events, in order to build an ever-stronger sense of community.