A Film and Story-Telling Festival Focuses on Disability
Recently I had the opportunity to attend part of the New York ReelAbilities Film Festival. The 6th annual event in New York involved all five boroughs, but was based primarily at Manhattan’s Jewish Community Center. The program featured a dizzying spectrum of disability perspectives and concerns on film. It also included talks, photographs, parties and story-telling in presented by The Moth.
I liked everything about this festival. Perhaps the best aspect is that individuals with all kinds of issues can come, in real life, and meet other people with similar kinds of concerns. And so might their parents, or spouses and others who want to know, to gain a better sense of the experiences of people with varied physical forms. I don’t know that I could have imagined this kind of event happening, when I was a child or a young doctor.
For this post, I’ll stick to “the Moth” presentations, which numbered five. My instincts tell me not to declare favorites, so I’ll just provide a tidbit about each of the stories:
The first speaker walked onto the stage with just a bit of guidance. He was young, blind, handsome and funny. He spoke of growing up in a suburb. He was assigned chores and minded those. When in his early 20s, he signed up to participate in a program that involved cleaning on Coney Island, the people in charge tried to keep him standing at the edge of the project, to not let him help out in a meaningful way. He felt marginalized. By speaking with the other participants, gradually he entered the workspace. He got to get his hands dirty, doing grunt work with the rest of the crew. Happiness ensued.
Next, a dark-haired, smiling woman who has aphasia – difficulty speaking, casually stood as she told her story. Her name is Yvonne Honigburg, and she advocates for the National Aphasia Association. She described growing up with a sometimes secretive mother, of learning she was adopted, and of searching for her biological mother. Eventually the three met in a restaurant in New Haven, CT. Upon meeting Yvonne’s natural mother, the adoptive mother said something surprising. It ended well.
A woman in a wheelchair delivered the third, marvelous story. Millie Gonzalez has long curly reddish hair. She wore a sequined, shiny top and spoke of how she has always loved to dance. Evidently she has spina bifida, and after years of dancing with crutches, as a child and in high school, she’s learned to dance in a wheelchair. A while back she attended a previous ReelAbilities festival and saw the film Musical Chairs. After the event, upon trusting a man, perhaps the film director, he “twirled” her in the air, or something like that. Her heart stopped, momentarily, for the thrill of it all. It was very romantic. After that, she’s gone belly-dancing and advocating for people with disabilities.
The fourth speaker told of a moving story of her life with severe kidney disease and impaired vision. When she was a child, and the doctors finally explained to her what was wrong, she felt a sense of relief, knowing at least that there was an explanation for what she was experiencing. After some dark times, and dialysis, she received a kidney from her mother. Still, she lacked self-esteem, and hibernated. She spoke openly and vulnerably, about what led her to see the value of living. #uplifting
The final speaker walked on stage and, after a few minutes, mentioned that she had a prosthetic arm. She’d spent most of her childhood, adolescence and college years trying to hide her deformity. She didn’t want to be perceived as defective. In becoming a mother, she realized that her child had certain expectations….I cried, just a bit.
Seriously, you should listen to the Moth to find out what happened. And next year, or in your city, check out the ReelAbilities Film Festival.
No favorites. Each story is distinctly beautiful, and instructive (like people…)
All for a while,
ES
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I can’t figure out how to find the MOTH recordings but I’d love to given your enticing descriptions….
Hi Ivory, I just looked over the Moth radio episodes and don’t see it yet, and in the “stories” as listed. I don’t find them, either. It may take time before they’re posted, if at all.