Don’t miss the second annual Iowa Disability Film Festival

The Iowa Disability Film Festival is stepping into the spotlight this March, bringing films that center disability to the big screen.

Representation in film can be an empowering step forward for communities whose voices have historically been suppressed. This is especially true for the disabled community, which has been largely systemically and culturally bypassed. This March, the second annual Iowa Disability Film Festival is bringing a diverse range of stories featuring disability to screens in Iowa City.

Put on by the Downtown Iowa City nonprofit cinema organization FilmScene, this festival aims to create conversations around disabilities and celebrate the diversity of human life. The festival is also living up to its values by providing accessible screenings featuring open captions, live ASL interpreters, and audio descriptions.

Interior of the Englert Theater, Iowa City. (Alan Light/Flickr)

The first weekend

The festival kicked off on March 20 with a film that rejects limited perspectives on what life with disabilities can look like. “Full Circle,” directed by Josh Berman, is a feature-length documentary about a skier who found new ways to do what he loved after a life-altering injury. On March 21, “Being Michelle,” directed by Atin Mehra, illuminated the story of a deaf woman who spent five years in prison without an interpreter. And on March 22, the documentary “A Friend Indeed: The Bill Sackter Story,” recounted the friendship between Barry Morrow and Bill Sackter, which resulted in a memorable musical collaboration and visible wins for the disabled community along the way.

Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder at the Hollywood premiere of “Superman.” (Larry Armstrong/Los Angeles Times archive)

What’s coming up next

The festival continues this weekend with more entertaining and thought-provoking films. First up on Friday, March 28, at 6:30 p.m., “The Tuba Thieves” is filmmaker Alison O’Daniel’s reflection on being hard of hearing, told through the lens of mysterious tuba thefts at a Los Angeles high school. O’Daniel experiments with sound sensitivity as she interviews musicians across the d/Deaf experience. Along with providing rich audio descriptions, the film will have an ASL interpreter for the introduction and post-show discussion, which will feature University of Iowa ASL club members as well as hard of hearing drum major Brandon Alpers.

The festival continues on Saturday, March 29, at 1 p.m., with “Hearts of Glass,” directed by Jennifer Tennican. Coming in at just over an hour, the documentary focuses on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities working at a high-tech agricultural facility in Wyoming called Vertical Harvest. The film follows the company’s first 15 months of operation, and alongside insights into the food growth and distribution industry, it explores the intersections of sustainability, food justice, and disability rights.

Last but certainly not least, on Saturday, March 29, at 3:30 p.m., the festival is pairing two films together. The short film, “Storytellers: Jake Thibeault,” directed by Orion Owens, details a college athlete’s recovery from a hockey accident and the resulting spinal injury that would challenge his athletic determination. “Super/man: The Christopher Reeve Story,”—directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui—is a feature-length documentary about the inspiring journey of actor Christopher Reeve after a horseback-riding accident resulted in quadriplegia. His activism would go on to support groundbreaking research into spinal cord injuries and pave the way for disability justice efforts today.

Everything else you need to know

The festival takes place at Film Scene’s Downtown Iowa City location, The Chauncey Theater at 404 E. College St. The movie theaters offer wheelchair and companion seating, a drop-off zone, a covered ramp from the parking area, and a lobby area with accessible restrooms. Ticketing for the festival is based on a pay-what-you-can model, increasing accessibility to these important stories. For more information, you can visit the festival’s website.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.