ReelAbilities Film Festival

March 20-27, 2014

Be part of the 3rd Annual ReelAbilities: Philadelphia Disabilities Film Festival, to explore, discuss, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience! ReelAbilities, designed to raise awareness and funds, supports JFCS’ Center for Special Needs’ ability to provide critical direct service to clients and those members of the community most in need. Don’t miss this week-long event presenting award winning fi lms and engaging discussions.
Founded in NY, ReelAbilities is the largest festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities.
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VIEW A PDF OF THE BROCHURE Click here
OPENING NIGHT AND RECEPTION: Screening of Silent Games and Reception
Thursday, March 20, 2014, 6–9pm
The Ritz East
SILENT GAMESYAEL KLOPMANN / DOCUMENTARY / ISRAEL/ SUBTITLES /74 MIN / DEAFNESS
Presenter: Neil McDevitt, Executive Director of the Deaf-Hearing Communication Centre
Speaker: Provost Stephen Weiner, Gallaudet University
The captivating story of an Israeli national deaf soccer team set out to become one of the top eight contenders in the 2007 World Championship in Bulgaria. Through ground-breaking techniques, award- winning director Yael Klopmann follows the stars of this team through their victories and hardships. Click here to learn more

Sunday, March 23, 2014, 11am–2pm
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
GIRLFRIENDJUSTIN LERNER / NARRATIVE/USA / ENGLISH / 94 MIN / INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES/ADULT CONTENT
Speaker: Eli Schostak, JFCS’ Director of the Center for Special Needs
Evan, a young man with Down Syndrome, lives with his mother in a working-class town hit hard by the recent economic recession. When he unexpectedly comes into a large amount of money, Evan uses it to pursue Candy, the girl he has loved since high school. Click here to learn more
ART EXHIBIT FROM OASIS ART CENTER Click here to learn more

Monday, March 24, 2014, 1:30-3:30pm
Martins Run Senior Living Community
PRAYING WITH LIOR
ILANA TRACHTMAN/DOCUMENTARY/USA/87 MIN/INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
Speaker: Rabbi Tsurah August
Lior has Down Syndrome and has spent his entire life praying with utter abandon. As Lior approaches Bar Mitzvah, the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony, different characters provide a window into life spent "praying with Lior". The movie poses difficult questions such as what is "disability" and who really talks to God. Click here to learn more

Monday, March 24, 2014. 8–10pm
The Roxy
AKA DOC POMUSPETER MILLER AND WILL HECHTER / DOCUMENTARY / CANADA / USA /ENGLISH / 98 MIN / PHYSICAL DISABILITIES\
Speakers:
Ryan Gooch Nelson, Musician and Performer
Charles W. Horton Jr., Executive Director/Assistant Deputy Mayor for Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities
Lauren DeBruicker, Partner, Duane Morris, LLP and Chair of the Board at Inglis
After being paralyzed by polio as a child, Jerome Felder renamed himself Doc Pomus, reinventing himself first as a blues singer and then as one of American popular music’s greatest songwriters, writing classics like, “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “This Magic Moment”, “A Teenager in Love,” and “Viva Las Vegas”. AKA Doc Pomus brings to life Doc’s joyous, romantic, heartbreaking and extraordinarily eventful journey. Click here to learn more

Wednesday, March 26, 7–9pm
Ambler Theater
CLOSING NIGHT: HERE ONE DAYKATHY LEICHTER / DOCUMENTARY / USA / ENGLISH / 76 MIN / MENTAL ILLNESS
Speaker: Kathy Leichter, Film Director
When filmmaker Kathy Leichter moved back into her childhood home after her mother’s suicide, she discovered a hidden box of audiotapes. Sixteen years passed before she had the courage to delve into this trove, unearthing details that her mother had recorded about every aspect of her life from the challenges of her marriage to a State Senator, to her son’s estrangement, to her struggles with bipolar disorder. Click here to learn more
ART EXHIBIT FROM MOSS REHABArt from MossRehab’s permanent collection, works created by professional artists with physical disabilities, will be displayed at the Ambler Theater during ReelAbilities Film Festival. In addition to temporary installations like this, each year, MossRehab hosts All About Art, an annual juried exhibition and sale. Tours are available of the All About Art exhibition for individuals and organizations. To learn more, visit www.mossrehab.com or contact 215 663 6100.Click here to learn more

Thursday, March 27, 1:30–3:30pm
Inglis HouseWHEN I WALKJASON DASILVA / DOCUMENTARY / USA / ENGLISH /85 MIN / PHYSICAL DISABILITIES
Speaker: Therapeutic Educator from Inglis
In 2006, 25-year-old Jason DaSilva was on vacation when suddenly he fell down and couldn’t get back up. His legs had stopped working; his disease could no longer be ignored. Just a few months earlier doctors had told him that he had multiple sclerosis. After his dispiriting fall, he turned to his Mom, who reminded him that, despite his disease, he still had the opportunity to pursue the things he loved most: art and filmmaking. Jason picked up the camera, turned it on his declining body, and set out on a worldwide journey in search of healing, self-discovery, and love. Click here to learn more
To view a PDF of the schedule, Click here