CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion

A look into the life of Brett, a boy born without arms due to thalidomide exposure.

Edgar, a thirty-something documentary filmmaker diagnosed with OCD, films his routine as he recounts his past and present dealing with this disorder. He has always been supported by the people in his close circle. However, he has never met someone with the same condition, someone who also goes through this mental seesaw. We will meet a young magician and the mother of a boy with OCD, all touched by the same condition and its various faces. Edgar will seek answers to questions that constantly haunt his mind, such as: How on earth have they been able to understand their minds? How have they overcome the various obstacles? And if they have overcome them at all.

Madeline Stuart is a fashion celebrity who has walked the runway at the New York Fashion Week, has 700 000+ followers on Facebook and is covered by international media world wide. This documentary follows Madeline on her journey to becoming the world's first professional supermodel with Down syndrome, challenging our perception of identity, beauty and disability.

For decades in Toledo, Ohio, Lott Industries has excelled at manufacturing small car parts. All 1,200 Lott employees have developmental disabilities, yet the company competes with traditional non-disabled businesses and achieves the highest quality ratings. When the US auto industry crisis hits, however, Lott's market is wiped out and president Joan Browne has 12 months to reinvent or close the doors. For the workers, the stakes are even higher since their jobs are a refuge, not only from the impoverishment that affects the majority of America's disabled, but from social isolation. For employees Kevin, Wanda and T.J., work is more than just a direly needed paycheck, it's a lifeline, a symbol of their dignity, and their dreams made real. The race to find a new business plan drives this engrossing recession economy drama, but it's the humanity the film restores to the balance sheet that makes A Whole Lott More such a rare achievement. Written by Myrocia Watamaniuk

Documentary following the controversy of the 1988 film THE IDIOTS, which showed a group of middle class people pretending to be mentally impaired. Disabled people confront film director Lars von Trier about his view that anything can be shown in film, arguing that it reinforces negative stereotypes of the disabled.

BEING MICHELLE follows the astounding journey of a deaf and disabled woman who survived incarceration under unimaginable circumstances by a system that refused to accommodate her needs as a deaf person with autism. Michelle's trajectory changed when she met Kim Law, a blind volunteer life coach who teaches classes to people in prison. Today, outside of prison, Kim and Michelle are doing the difficult work of unraveling Michelle's history, of telling the story of Michelle's traumatic childhood and her adverse experiences in the criminal justice system. With the support of Kim, Michelle realizes her own voice and strength. Throughout the film Michelle's artwork provides her own depiction of the trauma she survived as well as a means to her recovery. Ultimately, BEING MICHELLE is a story of redemption. It is about the bonds between women committed to thriving in a broken system, who are forging a path to healing that can only come through facing the truth and communicating it, together.

When nine-year-old Nadia is allowed to attend a regular school, she knows the kids will tease her but she'll "find a way to deal with it." Nadia has spina bifida, a congenital condition that has caused a lack of sensation from the knees down. She uses crutches in order to walk. Nadia, in her own candid way, makes it clear that she is not looking for sympathy. She can do many things that children do, only she has a different way of doing them. Oscar® winner!

For two years, five young adults affected by Cerebral Palsy (CP) have followed the crew of the sailboat Kifouine during their sail around the world through daily mail exchanges. Until they felt ready to break the moorings and take up the challenge to join the sailors. They spent two weeks on board of the Kifouine in Egypt. An exceptional experience that has, in many ways, changed their way to look at things, and the way they're being looked at...

One hot summer, Eun-hye, a jobless who’s just knitting at home, becomes popular at ‘Munho River Market’ as an artist who draws ‘not pretty face’ pictures. When customers ask her to draw them to look pretty, she replies “But you’re already pretty”. Eun-hye takes great care for a long time to express each people’s personality and says that everyone is born pretty from the beginning. And now the number of happy faces has already reached 2,000.