A Taste of ReelAbilities New York 2024

16th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival New York April 3 to 10, 2024, Celebrating disability through film. Five panels showing scenes from different films

This article is based on a talk Isaac Zablocki, co-founder of ReelAbilities and the director of film programs at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, gave at A11yNYC about the 2024 ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York.

ReelAbilities: The Beginning

Xian Horn said that from the beginning, ReelAbilities has centered the films around disabled voices. ReelAbilities invited Xian to speak in one of her first speaking gigs because they wanted someone with a disability to present.

She refers to Isaac as Yitzi. She says he has a wonderful family with a wife and kids. Yet, he views ReelAbilities and this festival as another child, another part of the family.

Hence, his commitment to the film festival is more than just in a professional capacity. He gives all of his heart, all of his time, and his passion to the film festival. Yitzi exemplifies that he cares about representation, inclusion, and accessibility.

Yitzi introduced himself as Isaac or Yitzi Zablocki. He answers to both names. In writing his opening night remarks, he said that he’s very lucky that his work is an extension of who he is and his beliefs. It’s the kind of world he wants to live in. He’s glad to have people who help create that same kind of world.

ReelAbilities is the largest disability Film Festival in the world. It was born out of New York City. In the fourth year of the festival, they got a request from Cincinnati to host ReelAbilities there. They told Cincinnati they had all the films, all the connections, and all the accessibility for these films. Let’s pass it to another city! That took off like wildfire.

Other cities wanted to do the same. But it takes resources to start a festival like this. And it takes good organization on the ground. So, ReelAbilities started in New York and runs in dozens of cities across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

They’re constantly expanding, constantly getting requests for ReelAbilities in more places. They tell the cities here’s the package, here’s how you have to run it, you need to be trained, you need to do this right, and you need to make it accessible. You must have the pillars of what they believe in.

The Importance of Community

What makes ReelAbilities special is the movies. They’re fantastic and high-quality films. In terms of cinematic quality, they don’t make any compromises for production, writing, acting, and everything about it. At the same time, they don’t compromise in terms of the films’ messages. These films are progressive in their approach to disability.

There’s been trouble with Hollywood all these years. Think about a film like “Rain Man” and the damage that it has done to the autistic community. Anytime someone says that they’re autistic, people immediately assume they can count cards and tell you how many matches just fell on the floor like the autistic character in “Rain Man.” Hollywood hasn’t done the best job as there hasn’t been authenticity.

Usually, there’s a little bit of a Band-Aid when it comes to representation. Now, there’s important work that is being done in Hollywood. Yitzi is seeing change for the better.

Another pillar of ReelAbilities is its partnerships. They don’t operate in a vacuum. They know that there have been many before them and many after them. Many are doing the work on the ground. They want this to be a space and create a space where all of their partners can feel welcome and feel like they can be a part of this stage for the disability community. This is a moment for the community to be in the spotlight.

They want to do more than have these films on the screen. No matter what, they follow each film with a conversation. They want to make the community part of this and create memorable experiences by having the community interact with the films. Some of the most beautiful things come from that.

Last year, Yitzi saw how they recognized what a community they helped build over the years. Suddenly, there are regulars that are coming and they’re meeting up with their friends. It’s not always easy for the community to bring everybody together and have these conversations.

Every year, there’s a first-timer who says they had never seen themselves on the screen. This is the first time they’re seeing it. And then there’s someone who doesn’t think they have any connection to the disability community. They’re watching the movie for the first time. They say it’s something they can relate to and had no idea. It’s that full spectrum of the community coming together. And that’s the beauty of film.

Yitzi feels like they’re serving ice cream. People come for a fun movie. They don’t show depressing movies. They show films that engage the community. Sometimes they’re happy, sometimes they’re dramatic, but they will stay with you and give you a new perspective on disability.

Creating Accessible Experiences

Another core value of theirs is accessibility. They raise the bar on accessibility. Every year, they look for new things. It’s slowed down because they do a lot. However, in the early years, there weren’t enough audio describers in New York to describe the films. They had to train people to become audio describers.

Not all films were audio-described in the festival’s first years. They’d do it for films that were related to the blind community. One year, they got a request at the last minute. Somebody called them and said they were blind and coming to the film the next day. It didn’t have audio description.

What did they do? They made it happen and live audio described it for this person. It was amazing. It was that year when they reached a point and said they’d raise the money to ensure every film was audio described and shown in open captions.

For those who are part of the disability community, the first question is often, “Is this accessible to me?” ReelAbilities can be a space where you don’t have to ask that question. They’re always learning and always also figuring out any friction that exists. After all, when you make something accessible, it could make it inaccessible to someone else.

They’re constantly aware of this. They’re big believers in universal design. It’s been hard for them to find places that are actual screening spaces. They don’t just want a big open room. They want a real movie theater to ensure they don’t compromise the theatrical experience.

This film festival brings in many people who use wheelchairs. It was tough to find a place that supports 14 wheelchair seats. They had to find a big theater because ADA requires a certain percentage of wheelchair-accessible seating, and that’s why bigger spaces sometimes have enough. But they can’t fill the biggest spaces. These spaces are extremely rare in New York, especially in older buildings. They love spaces where everybody is having the same experience together.

Fortunately, their main location is the JCC in Manhattan. It’s one of the few spaces with a fabulous theater and ample wheelchair seating. What they like about the JCC is it’s universally designed. They want to ensure people who use wheelchairs do not have to take elevators on the side, in the back, or a special entrance. They want them to use the same elevators as everyone else. That’s universal design.

The film festival implemented the concept of individual design too. They ask how they can make experiences more accessible for individuals. It’s a luxury but they want to provide it. They have a sensory room. All their conversations are captioned. They have audio descriptions, ASL interpreters, and tons of little things.

In year five, they learned the soap in the women’s bathroom was inaccessible. They fixed it. A door doesn’t open in the right way. The festival tries to figure out how to make things as accessible as possible.

About the Films

The films are diverse and cover the full spectrum of disabilities. One year, they had a film about migraines. Some might think migraines are not a disability. Clearly, they have not knowingly met anyone who has had a migraine.

They try to find films that include any kind of disability. They love films that are not about disability but rather include disability in a story of life. One of Yitzi’s favorites was a Hungarian film called “Kills on Wheels.” It was their nominee for the Oscar that year. It was a group of assassins who happened to use wheelchairs. The movie wasn’t about wheelchairs.

The festival runs in multiple locations throughout New York for geographic accessibility. In the first year, they had 15 locations. They got up to 40 locations but then consolidated down.

During the pandemic, they learned that they could be more accessible geographically if they provided a virtual option. They’re continuing with the virtual option even though they don’t get the rights for all the films. About half of the films are available virtually. This allows people to enjoy ReelAbilities from anywhere.

Beyond the films, they have an industry summit for performing arts talking about film and performing arts. Every year, they host a comedy night. Xian Horn runs a beauty and fashion conversation. She takes these concepts to the next level and talks about the intersection of disability, beauty, and fashion. All of it relates to creating cultural change through these stories and films.

Submission Process

The process for reviewing film submissions has evolved. They get hundreds of submissions, which is wonderful. They work with a platform called Film Freeway. It’s a general film festival submission platform.

ReelAbilities has a huge group of judges who help select the films. The film selection committee consists of people who are new and people who have been with them for a long time. All of it goes through a system until they make their final decisions.

The filmmakers fill out a form, which has also evolved over the years. Beyond everything that they need to submit to the platform, they have a specific form where they ask: Who is involved in the film that has a disability? What other diversity might have been included in the process of filmmaking?

They learn as much as possible about these films. The filmmakers send a link to the film, the committee watches it, and unfortunately, the selection committee makes more enemies than friends. They have to turn down hundreds of films.

People work so hard on these movies and it takes so long. They’re making the movie so it can be in ReelAbilities, which is one of the few disability film festivals out there. When they don’t get in, then where will their film be shown? Most of these films do not get presented anywhere, which is heartbreaking.

Yitzi’s Experience

The festival has a short film called “Bear” that’s about being neurodivergent and ADHD. Yitzi shares he’s neurodivergent and has ADHD, so he could relate to this film. When he started ReelAbilities, he didn’t acknowledge that he was a member of the community.

This film was made by an organization that hires only people with disabilities. They created a short film that tells the story of this organization called Working Differently.

Yitzi was trying to come to this from a cinematic perspective. He wanted to show great cinema that wasn’t being shown anywhere else and bring the community together to celebrate these films. It’s only through ReelAbilities that he is proud and owns his disability.

Video Highlights

Watch the Presentation

Transcript: A Taste of ReelAbilities New York 2024 - Isaac Zablocki

ISAAC: So... I'm Isaac or Yitzi Zablocki. If you can do the Yitzi, you're welcome to. Isaac is easier for most. It's very funny... Tomorrow night is the opening night of ReelAbilities, our 16th annual. It's a big night. We've got a lot going on. The movie is not working. It's all production and... I was writing my opening night remarks. And one of the things... I'll give you a preview. I was going to say there is... That I'm very lucky that my work is an extension of who I am and my beliefs. And the kind of world I want to live in. So I'm glad to have people who help create that same kind of world. Back to Xian.

XIAN: Okay. I'm stealing the mic for one very important thing. This group is called ally, or a11y. There's no greater ally than you as well. So I think this is a perfect marriage.

The fact that a11ynyc -- you're one of my favorite people on planet Earth. Thomas, Cameron, Shawn, everybody. Meryl, the entire list goes on and on and on. But I'm just so happy that my favorite people get to celebrate you. And... To be continued. That's it. Okay.

ISAAC: So let me tell you everything I can. We're gonna watch a movie here about ReelAbilities. I'm sorry for the folks at home... For rights purposes, we can't show the movie at home.

But we're gonna show things here for those in person and the folks at home will get to watch some trailers from our movies. And let me tell you everything. And then we're happy to take questions. And I'll also try to keep track of time. So... ReelAbilities is now the largest disability Film Festival in the world. We try to show films that... A lot of it, Xian, I think, captured. And this is also our second event together today. So she has to hear all these stories again. But I'll try to give them a twist. It was born out of New York City. It actually has... I'll give you also all the inside little secrets that... On our fourth year of the Festival, we started... Should I not be here? On the fourth year of our festival,

we got a request from Cincinnati. Literally. To have a ReelAbilities there. And we said...

Sure. We've captured the films. We have all the films. We have all the connections. We've created all the accessibility for these films. Let's... Pass it to another city! That took off like wild fire. And other cities were like... We would like it! We heard before of other cities that kept requesting. But it takes resources to start a festival like this. And it takes good organization on the ground. So ReelAbilities started here in New York. And then runs... In dozens, it's run over the years in literally dozens of cities across the US, into Canada. We have Mexico know.

We are constantly expanding, constantly getting requests for more ReelAbilities, in more places. And really, we're a bad franchise model. Where we don't get any kickbacks. We just... You know, here's the package. Here's how you have to run it. You need to be trained. You need to do this right.

You need to make it accessible. You have to have the pillars of what we believe in. And that's kind of a good way to tell you a little bit about what ReelAbilities is. So first of all, number one of what makes ReelAbilities special is our movies. Our movies are fantastic. High quality films. We don't make any compromises, in terms of cinematic quality. Production and writing and acting and everything about it. And at the same time, we make no compromises in terms of the messages that these films give. So these films are all... I would say... Progressive films, in terms of its approach to disability. There's been a lot of trouble with Hollywood all these years. I go back to -- in my day, I mean, I think about... Like... A film like Rain Man. And the damage that has done to the

autistic community. Because now anybody who says that they're autistic, immediately you assume they can count cards and tell you how many matches just fell on the floor. And obviously Hollywood hasn't done the best job. Especially... There's been no authenticity. There's been not enough... Usually there's a little bit of a Band-Aid, in terms of the kind of representation they try to put out there. When actually... There's important work that needs to be done. And we're seeing now that work is being done. So with all the bad things I could say about Hollywood, I am seeing change.

And that's really exciting. Another pillar of ReelAbilities is our partnerships. Partnerships. We don't think that we are in a vacuum. And we know that there have been many before us. There are many after us. And there are so many right now doing the work on the ground. And we want this to be a space -- we want to create a space where all of our partners can feel welcome and feel like they can be a part of -- this is a -- I like to think it's a stage for the disability community. This is a moment for our community to be in the spotlight. What am I missing?

Partnerships. The quality films. Conversations. We follow each film with a conversation, no matter what. As you heard from Xian, she spoke at one of our films. We want to have... We want to just take these films not just to have them on the screen, but you have whatever moving, life changing, forever memorable experience that you're gonna have -- we want to take it further and actually say: Make the community a part of this. Like we're doing right now. And actually having the community interact with the films. And that's kind of some of the most beautiful things come from that. I personally, last year, I saw how... I recognized what a community we... I'm taking credit here...

We have helped build over the years. And suddenly there's all these regulars that are coming, and they're meeting up with their friends. Which is not easy, always, for our community. And bringing everybody together. And having these conversations. And seeing first-timers, who every year, there's a first-timer who says... I have never seen myself up on the screen. This is the first time I'm seeing it. And then you have somebody who doesn't think they have any connection to the disability community. And they're watching the movie for the first time, and they're saying... Wow. This is something that I completely relate to. And I had no idea. So...

It's that full spectrum of the community coming together. And that's the beauty, I think, of film. It's kind of like... There's very low entrance barriers to film. And we try to bring in... So people are coming... I feel like we're serving ice cream. People are coming for a fun movie, and hopefully the movie we show tonight you'll enjoy and say... Oh, it came from a disability film event and it was really depressing -- no. Those are not the kinds of films we show. We show films that engage the community. Sometimes they're happy, sometimes they're dramatic, but they will stay with you and give you a new perspective on disability. Another core value of ours is accessibility. We are raising the bar on accessibility. Every year. Looking for new things.

It's kind of slowed down, because we've done a lot. But... You know, going from the early years, where we didn't have -- there weren't enough audio describers in New York to describe the films. We had to train people. To become audio describers. But of course, now we're at a place where... I'll tell you another embarrassing secret. In our early years, not all of our films were audio described. We would do it for films that were related to the blind community specifically.

And to films... Which is now totally absurd to me... And by request. I remember one year, we got a request at the last minute. Somebody called us up and said... I'm blind. I'm coming to the film tomorrow. We're like... We don't have audio description for this film. What are we gonna do? We live audio described it for this person. We made it happen. It was amazing. And I think the people who actually did the hard work of doing that live... It was quite an experience. Since then, we've realized... Oh, wait a minute. It was that one year, we reached a point where we said... This year, we're gonna raise the money and we're gonna make every film audio described. Every film was shown in open captions. So ReelAbilities can be a space

where you don't have to go -- for those of you who are part of the disability community -- is this accessible to me is always the first question. What is this experience gonna be like? It is... We try to remove that question as much as possible and make it a fully accessible experience. Always learning. Always also figuring out there's always that friction that exists. You know, one thing that's accessible -- makes things accessible to one person might make things inaccessible to another person. So... This is something that we're really constantly trying to be aware of. And the big change that happened last year -- we've always been big believers in universal design. I saw that here in these offices. For some reason, there was something about universal design as I came in. I

don't know what kind of office we're in. What is it? Creative agency? I saw it as... I was starting to say... Oh, might this be an architectural space? And they know about universal design?

But... Universal design, design for absolutely everyone... And by the way... We're here in New York City. I know we're cheering for New York. But it is so hard for us to find screening spaces that are actual screening spaces. With all respect... We're not just looking for a big open room. We want... We don't want to compromise the theatrical experience. So we want a real movie theater.

And we're a festival that brings in literally dozens of people in wheelchairs. Doesn't exist. It is impossible to find. We managed to find a place that has 14 wheelchair seats for our opening night. And you have to get a really big theater, so the percentages -- because ADA requires a certain percentage of wheelchairs, and that's why bigger spaces sometimes have enough. But we can't fill the biggest spaces. So it's really... It's a real challenge. We're lucky enough our main location is the JCC in Manhattan. It's one of the few spaces that has a fabulous theater and ample wheelchair seating. There's imperfections there too. But... That's of course part of the accessibility experience. And what we also like about the JCC specifically is it's universally designed. It's not that the wheelchairs have to take this elevator

on the side. Even in the worst case scenarios -- wheelchair users have to take the elevator in the back. And the trash, even worse. A special entrance. Come up this ramp here that we just put up. And use the back entrance, the service elevator. We love spaces where everybody is having the same experience together. It's also extremely, extremely rare here in New York. Especially in our... With all these old buildings.

And yes, and we bring everybody in together. So that's universal design. And then last year, we implemented this concept of individual design too. Where it's... We've had this table for a few years now. But we have a table where it's like... How can we make this experience more accessible for you? How can we make sure you're having all your needs met here? Which is a luxury, I realize, in our world. But we feel that that's a statement that we want to make. And something that we want to provide. We have a sensory room. All our conversations are captioned. And we of course... I mentioned the audio description, ASL interpreters, and there's tons of little things. Like we discovered in year five of our festival that the soap in the women's bathroom was inaccessible. Which kind of devastated me a little bit,

for many reasons. But little things like that. A door doesn't open in the right way. We try to really... Figure that out. And make things as accessible as possible. Our films, beyond being fantastic, they are diverse. We cover disabilities across the full spectrum of disabilities. When people ask me... Oh, do you consider that a disability? The answer will be yes. Because whatever "that" is, it's something that we try it cast as wide of a net as possible.

We had one year a film about migraines. Some might say migraines is not a disability. I don't understand how anybody... They have obviously not met anyone who has ever had a migraine.

But yes. We try to find the films that include any kind of disability. We also love films that are not about the disability, but rather include disability in its story of life, of drama, of whatever it is. One of my favorites, years ago, was a film called Kills on Wheels, which was about some gangsters. It was a Hungarian film. It was their nominee for the Oscar that year. Just a group of assassins in wheelchairs. And they happened to be in wheelchairs. The movie wasn't about the wheelchairs. Sure, they used it. And that was an angle. It wasn't ignored. But it wasn't about that. It actually had its own story. So we're running April 3rd. That's tomorrow. To the 10th. And Xian has just been wired up or something. And we run in multiple locations

throughout New York, for geographic accessibility as well. This has been there since year one. In our first year, we ran in 15 locations. We built it up to 40 locations, but then we consolidated down, and during the pandemic, we learned that we could be much more accessible geographically, if we run virtually. And this was a beautiful learning. And we are continuing, even though we don't get the rights for all the films. For example, tonight's film, to have it on virtually.

About half our films are available virtually. So people can enjoy ReelAbilities from anywhere. Beyond the films, we also have other amazing events. We have a summit every year. An industry summit for performing arts, talking about film and performing arts. And kind of the next level of accessibility, and how to keep making sure we're gonna do this right. We're seeing a lot of changes in our society. And then we have a comedy night every year. Which is a lot of fun. This year, Pavar Snipe, who is a comedian, is putting it all together. It's turning into a whole variety show that is way out of our capacity, but it's gonna be a fun night. And then our very own... If I may...

Xian Horn runs a beauty and fashion... Thank you... It's getting late in the day. Beauty and fashion conversation. Where she really takes these concepts also to the next level. And talks about the intersection of disability and beauty and fashion. And a lot of us really... It's very much back to our core. All of it relates back, I think, to our work with film, and creating cultural change. That's I think what we're all doing here. Through our stories. Through these films.

I said a lot. I've gone on fast. I can't believe they kept up with me. But... I'd love to first show our trailer for this year's festival, to get us in the mood. So... We'll run that.

THOMAS: For those of you on the stream afterwards, we're going to be playing a video here, but you will be seeing other trailers on the livestream. And we thank you for being here. But... As mentioned... We can't show the video we'll be showing here on the livestream. [VIDEOS PLAY]

ISAAC: So thank you. I love that film. It's... You know, such a great metaphor. And really gets into... I think some of the subtleties within the interactions between disability and non-disabled people. Most importantly, beyond the specific of -- which I diagnose as ADHD, possibly. Or maybe that's what they wrote in their form, when they submitted this film -- but what I also see here is a real representation of invisible disabilities. And how that comes across to the rest of the world. Being inside the box, and having somebody from outside the box trying to communicate with you. And that's something that also -- I thought this film just did beautifully. They really put an emphasis on that structure and the black and white and staying within certain requirements. That this job has. And of course, somebody who is neurodivergent will

not necessarily fit into have that consistency where the organization... But will be able to bring other things to the table as well. Before we take questions, I'll just say this film was made -- this is one of the things I love about it -- it was made by an organization that hires only people with disabilities. And they make films.

It's a production company specifically for that. And they're all coming into the festival. Like, the whole company is coming in. We have another short film that actually tells the story of this organization. It's called Working Differently. So you can check that out as well, at the festival.

Get kind of the behind the scenes of this film. But most importantly, we have all these filmmakers coming in. We make everything accessible. We have great films. We have completely depleted our budgets on all of the things I just mentioned. That we have really slim marketing budgets.

So where you can help here in this room is help get the word out. Help get people there. And let people enjoy these films. Bring a friend. Tell them that they're just coming for a film night, and they might learn something too. Over to you. And any questions, comments, or thoughts. And Xian will begin.

I'll give you guys some insight as to the film selection committee. We often have debates. And I will say when I first saw this, I'm like... It's not clear what the disability is. It's maybe too metaphorical. By the way, I want to say that I've been totally converted. Because I think it's... I mean, I knew it was adorable.

I knew it was fun. But I kind of wondered if it was too esoteric. But it is interesting. You're saying... Invisible disabilities... I actually can relate to this. As somebody visibly disabled.

Because early in my career, there were no spaces... I mean, when I was in college, stating that you were disabled... I would show up and people would be kind of... Uh... Kind of awkward. Not wanting to be awkward. So I can see also visible disabilities sort of being the bear in the room, or the elephant in the room. And I've always said: Hug the elephant!

But I remember interviewing for Merchant Ivory, once. And the guy... He was just sort of humoring me. And he kept asking... Well, but you can do everything? You know. And I said... Well, as long as there's no heavy lifting involved, it should be fine. I thought he would chuckle. Nothing.

You know? So I think there is something universal with anyone who feels kind of odd. Or not even disabled, but just maybe... You don't work in a traditional manner, and that's not the way that... So I wanted to say that I've been completely totally won over by this film. I do know that sometimes not all of us agree on what makes it in the final. But watching it over again... I'm so glad it's in the festival. It kind of reminds me of the Pumpkin Movie. Maybe you can tell them about the Pumpkin Movie. ISAAC: The Pumpkin Movie is a good one. But I want to say about this one -- it's interesting what you're bringing up. Obviously it's about an invisible disability. But it's about an invisible disability made visible. And what

happens when your invisible disability... It was probably written in their form that it's ADHD specifically. But it's neurodivergence. It's a great example of neurodivergence.

If that could be visible, and how people could react to it. I thought it was just a really interesting experiment of it all.

I've had that experience in the room. Where the person wants to seem like it's okay. And they don't want to bring it up. But... Yeah. So I think it really reflects that awkwardness that people have on both sides. But also in this case, obviously a very... I don't think every employer is this black and white, literally. Right?

But anyway... Okay. I love this film. Bye. ISAAC: Anyone else? Have a question or comment?

THOMAS: Yeah. I wanted to ask just from I guess the starting point of the authors or the creators of the Bear... How did they submit? What's the process for submitting and getting reviewed? What's the criteria? ISAAC: Yeah. So this is something that also has been a system that's evolved over the years. We get hundreds of submissions, which is wonderful.

We work with a platform called Film Freeway. It's a Film Festival... Not disability-specific. A Film Festival submission platform. So we have a huge group of judges who help us select the films. The film selection committee. Which is on different levels. We take people who are watching it for... Who are joining us new, people who have been with us for years, and it goes through kind of a system, 'til we make our final decisions. For the filmmakers themselves, we ask them to fill out a form, which has also evolved over the years. Beyond everything that they need to submit to the platform, we have a very specific form where we ask: Who is involved in the film that has a disability? Are any of the cast and crew -- any of the filmmakers, anybody else who might be related?

What other diversity might have been included in the process of the filmmaking? So we really look to see and learn as much as possible about these films. They send us the link, we watch it, and unfortunately we make more enemies than friends. Because we have to turn down hundreds of films that honestly... People work so hard on these movies. And it takes so long. And you make this movie. You're like... I'm making this movie so it can be in ReelAbilities. One of the few disability Film Festivals out there. And then it doesn't get in. And where is it gonna get shown? And most of these films... Most of these films do not get shown anywhere.

Which is really... Heartbreaking to me. THOMAS: All right. We're gonna take a question from the livestream and then we'll also be taking questions here in the room. Question: Who is responsible for adding captions... And I'll also add to their question...

Audio descriptions to the films? Do the film productions do that, or is there any part of ReelAbilities that assists with that? ISAAC: ReelAbilities made the decision that we're gonna make every film accessible in terms of audio description and captioning. So we do it.

We do see in the last few years that some films are coming to us with their audio description and captions already in place. And that's great and we love to see that. The majority of the films, we still have to do that. I'll tell you also in that process, as part of what we do... We don't just approve it. We hand it back to the filmmakers and say... This is your tool for the future. Approve it. See this as part of the creative process. How do you... You know... Does this work for you? Some of them watch it. Some of them don't. Some of them just say... Sure.

Approved. And some of them see... Oh, wait. You know what? That caption there actually is not timed correctly and ruins the joke. If you put the caption there, you need that pause. Timing is everything with humor. So then we make changes. And at the end, we actually give it back to them, and they own those accessibility aids. That then we hope they'll use as much as possible. This is another frustrating side of our business. Is... They don't. They rarely use it. Rarely is there a place that shows... Other festivals... Rarely there use -- rarely will use all of the accessibility aids that we create. That's also something that we're trying to change. We're saying... No. Say to Sundance I want to show it. They don't go from us to

Sundance. Other way around. But say to whatever festival: I want to show it with open captions. I want to make sure that the audio description is provided. And we're seeing a little change.

They're starting to wake up to it. THOMAS: That's great. All right. We'll take some questions in the room.

First of all, thanks a lot for what you do. I hadn't heard about ReelAbilities before. Thank you. I specifically empathize with the need for open captions, because English is not my first language. I've watched a lot of movies in English. But captions always help me. Anyway... That's not the question. The question is: I'm just curious what your background is. And how and why you got into this. How this idea occurred to you. Thank you. ISAAC: First of all, I'll say accessibility -- this is not my saying -- accessibility helps everyone. Captions are something that you don't have to have a disability to be able to enjoy captions. To serve you. How I got into this... I studied film and I was making films, and then I realized that that

was really not for me. I had to get up early and set environment was like... Just didn't really do it for me anymore. Honestly, I was losing the magic. It kills the magic of film.

And I had this wonderful opportunity to run the film center at the JCC in Manhattan. Which wasn't yet a film center. It was just a new building that had opened up. This was 19 years ago. And they wanted to have a film program. And I was lucky enough to get that job and to develop a film program. And what I wanted to do was to show films that weren't being shown everywhere else. That were important films, that were great films, and that... I felt was something that I could bring to the community. And films that I believed in and connected to.

We showed one film about the disability community. And I saw what an impact it has and how important it is. And when you show one film, other people hear about you, and they send you... Back then, all the screeners came on DVDs. I had a whole stack of DVDs on my desk, of disability-related films. I said to one of my colleagues... We have a Festival here. As luck would have it, I met a woman who ran a network of Disability Organizations. Who understood the power of film as well. And have the same idea. And we came together, and ReelAbilities was born. And again, it didn't come from me. Disability was in my life. And it was... Disability wasn't... I wasn't one of those people who completely, like, shut out disability. I always had some Disability Pride

myself, but it wasn't about me. It wasn't about my experience. It was about bringing these films out there. And through there, I became part of a community that I'm now proud to be a part of.

THOMAS: Question here.

You mentioned live audio describing a film at the last minute. Which I would have loved to see. That's an incredible skill set. To be able to do that on the fly. In general, I've done audio descriptions for short things for clients. That are a minute, two minutes. When you get a film in, you decide it's gonna be in the festival, what is your typical turnaround time for audio description and kind of... Feedback cycles with the filmmaker to make sure it aligns with their vision? I'm just kind of curious. Maybe that's a longer talk than we have time for. But the process of that. ISAAC: It's a great question. Because I love to vent a little bit and say that in most festivals that you go to, you can choose your films... I

don't know. Let's say you need a month to build your festival. You lock your program two weeks before that. You've got to go to print and stuff. Say a month before that. So basically two months before the festival, you've locked in your films and you know it all. We have to lock in our films at the end of December. And that... Start that audio describing and captioning process -- by the way, we used to do a lot of this -- we used to record audio description in-house.

Now luckily there's enough spaces that we can outsource it completely. We actually have to work with two different companies. Because one company -- it would be overwhelming for them to take on all of our films. So we work with two different companies.

Who put it all together. We get them approved. Then we also have to have different versions of it. You have to have... You know, you have to make sure that the captions are working. So we have... For some theaters, where the captions are up in a cloud, actually, and we have an app that syncs up with the film. And the audio description. There's a lot of technology that goes into that.

We're still working on our audio description for tomorrow's film to make sure that it works, because it's yet to. And this is with a big company. It doesn't matter how much money you have. These things take time. And... ReelAbilities has a very unique process in terms of that. That I think stands out from every other Film Festival. And it's funny. As we're trying to convince more Film Festivals to be like us and be more accessible, we haven't told them that this is gonna take them twice as long and throw off their timeline. Suddenly they have to say yes to films months... If we were able to say yes to films two months before our Festival... It would open the door for many, many other opportunities. THOMAS: One more from online and then one

last question also in the room. We'll be wrapping tonight. But I think related to what you were just speaking to... Are there any guidelines as far as for people submitting? That they need to follow?

Or do you all... Produce anything, where they need to follow something? To be in best practices?

ISAAC: We say films that are by or about people with disabilities. It doesn't even need to be about a disability. Sometimes if it's made by someone with a disability. The truth that you have to recognize is -- luckily enough for us, sad for filmmakers -- it's an extremely competitive market. So all those wonderful films out there that are a little bit connected to disability are not gonna make that final cut. We're gonna need the ones ultimately -- we have enough films that really present it all. And have the full package. That get out there. And those are the ones that will make... And by the way... Some of those who have the full package don't make the final cut. We just don't have enough slots for it.

I hear a lot of complaints. Because I think sometimes people think if there's disability in it, ReelAbilities will say yes. And people don't realize just how many films we do look at. And the quality that... Our standards are quite high. And one thing I wanted to say I'm really proud of is: We have prioritized over time authentic casting.

Much more than when I started with you guys. ISAAC: There's always the question of authentic casting, having the actors be really disabled. And in ReelAbilities, I like to say we go for responsible casting. We want to make sure that the casting you did in your film... I like to give this example... If it's a film about Alzheimer's, you may not be able to cast someone with Alzheimer's in that role. Maybe you can, maybe you can't. But have you actually done the searches? Have you actually... Done everything you could to... You have to have a really good reason not to cast a person with a disability in order to ultimately be in the festival. Also, there are so many... When we first started this Film Festival, it was rare to find a film that was authentically

cast. So we had to take other films. Today, we are 100% authentic. And for years now. We've been doing that. And we know films that are not authentic or not done responsibly enough are not gonna make the cut. I will say as a recommendation to fill out our form. The personal form. That's very helpful. That's the first thing I look at. I like to know who is involved with this film. That connects to the disability world. And where else is the right film for us. Feel free to also reach out. We get hundreds of films. I try to put my eyes on all of them. But I've also... Not... Some years, I don't get to all of them. And if it's a film that somebody wrote to me and said... Oh,

could you check out my film for ReelAbilities? It doesn't mean it's getting in. But it helps. And that's, by the way, true for any festival. Always send a personal email to those who are running the festival. Can't hurt. THOMAS: Awesome. We're gonna take one last question in the room.

Thank you. So I'm curious about particularly audio description. Right? Are you able to edit any of these videos? Or is that more of an audio describer's skill, to make sure that whatever is being described is within that lapse or that pause of a scene? How does that work? ISAAC: It's such an art form. First of all...

There's different philosophies, by the way. Some people come to it, saying... Oh, you have to say as much as possible. Some say... As little as possible. Some say... Be objective.

And just give a general kind of sense. And some say... Capture the feeling of what's going on. But once you're capturing the feeling, then you're bringing yourself into it, and what does that mean? I actually like that. I come from the artistic side. So I like seeing it, when people are bringing in their own interpretations. The filmmaker might be like... Oh, you didn't get this film at all. You're saying... And that's true about captions too. What is that music in the background? Is that uplifting music, or is that whatever other kind of music? It might take you in different directions. And people bring themselves and their experience into... It's not necessarily objective. Which is really interesting. Xian was saying before how we disagree about films. I don't think we've ever had a film that everybody agreed on. Right? I'll always be like... Wait.

Everybody agrees except that one person? What's happening here? People see movies differently. And that's the beauty of our diversity. I've learned to accept it. I can't change it.

THOMAS: And maybe one last question. Just plug the dates and locations for where this will be happening. ISAAC: April 3rd to the 10th. Our main location is the JCC Manhattan on 76th and Amsterdam, but we are in ten other locations throughout the New York metro area. We're also available virtually as well. Our opening night is tomorrow night. It is sold out now. It is opening at the Time Center tomorrow night. And we also have a streaming site.

Did I mention our streaming site? That has some of our older films that we try to give them a home there. And please help us spread the word. ReelAbilities.org is the website. R-E-E-L. And be sure to go to the New York one. Because we have it in other spaces as well. And it seems that some of them have bigger... Better Google performances than the New York one for some reason. Even though we're kind of the biggest one. And yeah. We're excited to have you. Please tell your friends and your networks wherever you can, to get the word out and join us. Thank you. Thank you for having us. THOMAS: Thank you.

Bio

Isaac Zablocki is the co-founder of ReelAbilities and the director of film programs at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. He attended film school at Columbia University and went to work at Miramax Films. Previously, he produced and directed feature films and developed film educational programs for the Board of Education.

Since 2004, Isaac has been developing film programs at the JCC including The Israel Film Center. Beyond ReelAbilities, he programs multiple film festivals annually including the acclaimed Other Israel Film Festival about Arab and minority populations in Israel.