September 12, 2007
Movie Premier to Highlight disABILITIES Film Festival
BUFFALO, N.Y. – For the first time The disABILITIES Film Festival & Speaker Series will feature a Western New York premier of a Hollywood film. The third annual festival will debut the feature film Snow Cake starring Sigourney Weaver.
The Festival is scheduled for October 12-13, 2007 at the Market Arcade Theaters on Main Street in downtown Buffalo. It will feature a strong line up of films and highly qualified speakers, who will provide context for each film as well as insight into the disabilities each film explores. The Festival’s goal is to entertain and inform while exploring issues faced by individuals with disabilities.
The schedule of films and speakers includes:
October 12th from 7-10pm: Snow Cake - The story of a developing friendship between Linda (Sigourney Weaver), a woman who has autism, and Alex (Alan Rickman), an ex-convict who is traumatized after a fatal car accident. In this award winning movie, Alex discovers new friends while learning about the uniqueness of Linda as he struggles to come to terms with his own grief. This movie is unrated.
October 12th from 7-10pm: The Tic Code - A 10 year old boy (Chris Marquette) who wants to be a jazz pianist becomes, with his mother’s (Polly Draper) help, an underage regular at a local nightspot where he teams up with a sax superstar (Gregory Hines). Both learn that each has Tourette Syndrome. Winning many awards, this is a movie about three people who come to accept that life doesn’t always deal you a fair hand and you must play the hand you’re dealt. This movie is rated R for language.
After the film, Susan Conners, President, Tourette Syndrome Association of Greater New York and “Air” Gordon Scherer, Board Member Tourette Syndrome Association of Greater NY and WBEN/STAR 102.5 Radio Personality will discuss Tourette’s.
October 13th from 3:15-5:45pm: Unforgotten: 25 Years After Willowbrook - This critically acclaimed and award winning film examines the impact that, in the wake of Geraldo Rivera’s shocking 1972 expose, the closure of Willowbrook State School had on patients and their families. Using old film clips, photographs and contemporary interviews to show what life was like before, during and after Willowbrook, the film traces the lives of five people who once lived in Willowbrook. One of these individuals is Bernard Carabello, who was institutionalized at Willowbrook for 18 years because he had cerebral palsy and who now works as a self-advocate. This documentary is unrated.
The Festival is very fortunate that Bernard Carabello, Award-Winning speaker who is considered to be the “Father of the Self-Advocacy Movement” will be at The disABILITIES Film Festival and speaking about his institutionalization at Willowbrook.
The goal of the Film Festival and Speaker Series is to educate viewers, offer different perspectives, challenge stereotypes, and celebrate the contributions of people with disabilities to popular culture. For more information go to www.disabilityfilmfest.org. The Festival is also the unofficial start of the first-ever New York State Disability History Week.
Tickets for the The disABILITIES Film Festival & Speaker Series are $2 and can be purchased at the Market Arcade box office the day of the show. For more information about the Film Festival call 816-7261.
The Museum of disABILITY History advances the understanding, acceptance and independence of people with disabilities. Its exhibits, collections, archives, and educational programs create awareness and a platform for dialogue and discovery.
The Museum, located at 1291 North Forest Rd. in Williamsville, is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. or by appointment. Admission to the Museum of disABILITY History is free. For more information, call (716) 817-7261 or visit www.museumofdisability.org.
People Inc. is a not-for-profit health and human services agency providing programs and services to at least 10,000 people with special needs, their families, and seniors throughout Western New York. Since 1971, People Inc. has assisted individuals to achieve greater degrees of independence and productivity.
