The ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York, the largest film festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with disabilities, is back!
The festival, now in its 16th year, takes place April 3 – 10, 2024, in venues throughout New York City, Long Island, Westchester and online. Its offerings include films, conversations, professional workshops and art events. All films are followed by a talk with filmmakers, protagonists and guests.
This year’s festival features 26 films. They include:
- Ezra, which follows Max Bernal (Bobby Cannavale), a stand-up comedian living with his father (Robert De Niro) and struggling to co-parent his autistic son, Ezra (William Fitzgerald), with his ex-wife (Rose Byrne);
- Tell Them You Love Me, a true-crime documentary about an esteemed university professor who becomes embroiled in a controversial affair with a non-verbal man with cerebral palsy, leading to a criminal trial that would challenge perceptions of disability and the nature of consent;
- Okthanksbye, directed by Nicole Van Kilsdonk, a Dutch film about classmates at a boarding school for the deaf who set off on an unexpected road trip to Paris.
The Hollywood Reporter, in its review for Ezra, writes that it “earns its crowd-hugging stripes legitimately thanks to its superb ensemble and sensitive direction that never gets in the way of its knowing script.”
Events include the ReelAbilities Industry Summit: Disability Inclusion and Equity in Film + Performing Arts (April 8) and the ReelAbilities Comedy Night (April 9).
You’ll find all info on the ReelAbilities festival website.
Photo: Okthanksbye/ReelAbilities
