Person Before Ability: Curated Shorts Program
Sunday, November 27th at 11:00am via Eventive
Person Before Ability: Curated Shorts Program
Through bold and unforgettable stories, this series breaks expectations and conventions of what it means to be ‘disabled’. The collection of docs, comedies, fantasies and poetry explores the universal questions of how we communicate, advocate, love and grieve. The characters step into the spotlight, shifting the lens to represent the true spectrum of ability.
Curated by Michelle Asgarali
Michelle Asgarali is writer/producer with a physical disability and a background in documentary and TV development hopes to make an impact in creating entraining content that is accessible for all. She is currently the Casting and Social Media Producer for ‘Employable Me Canada’, an award-winning documentary series.
Co-Presented by ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto
Shorts Featured:
Tragically Deaf
3 Mins | Dir. Max Corkindale & Paul Vagnarelli | 2020 | Australia
Paul (Paul Vagnarelli) is having a great day. He has a loving family, a good job, and enjoys life to the fullest. It’s a pity that the documentary crew following him doesn’t seem to see that…
I Can
5 Mins | Dir. Diana Elizabeth Jordan | 2019 | United States
A young woman named Ellis is taunted by friends and family. She must figure out if it is something sinister or is there a larger meaning behind it all.
Refuge in the Rockies
12 Mins | Dir. Kaio Kathriner | 2018 | Canada
This short documentary tells the story of young Colombian refugee and Para-alpine ski champ Anderson Losada. The only thing in his way of his Paralympic dream is an obscure law preventing him from Canadian citizenship.
Jmaxx and the Universal Language
13 Mins | Dir. Ryan Mayers | 2017 | United States
A teenager with autism turns to dance as a way to better express himself.
Fluid
2 Mins | Dir. Mari “Dev“ Ramsawakh | 2019 | Canada
Fluid is a short, experimental self-portrait of an artist’s experiences living at the intersections of their many fluid identities.
Silk
3 Mins | Dir. Kim Kitchen | 2020 | Canada
An experimental film exploring the reconnection to nature and life, made from the reflections and images taken on a research exploration to Lake Superior in summer 2019.
Shakespeare in Tokyo
21 Mins | Dir. Genevieve Clay-Smith | 2018 | Australia, Japan
A Shakespeare fan with Down syndrome (Gerard O’Dwyer) sets off on a solo adventure to discover Tokyo and to prove his independence.
Person Before Ability Q&A with Filmmakers
2 Mins | Dir. Mari “Dev“ Ramsawakh | 2019 | Canada
Fluid is a short, experimental self-portrait of an artist’s experiences living at the intersections of their many fluid identities.