OUR MISSION

ReelAbilities Film Festival is the largest festival in the US dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities. Initiated in NY in 2007, the festival presents award winning films by and about people with disabilities in multiple locations throughout each hosting city. Post-screening discussions and other engaging programs bring together the community to explore, discuss, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience.

ABOUT US

ReelAbilities Film Festival
ReelAbilities Film Festival was initiated in New York at the JCC Manhattan in 2007, founded by Anita Altman and Isaac Zablocki. The festival was the first of its kind to present a series of award-winning films by, about and for people with disabilities. As the festival progressed, screenings continued to take place at multiple venues across the city and all films are followed by discussions that engage the community in promoting inclusion and celebrating diversity, while providing accessible conditions to match the different needs of our multi-layered society.

ReelAbilities North American Program
In 2012, other cities across the US followed New York’s footsteps by hosting a ReelAbilities Film Festival, starting at Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then, Reelabilities events have been held in over a dozen cities in North America. ReelAbilities events have expanded from the US to Canada and soon – Latin America, and take place in many different forms – film festivals, year round screenings and special programming that goes beyond film. Since its start, ReelAbilities has been consistently receiving an increasing number of outstanding film submissions from across the globe. The ReelAbilities North America headquarters has recently moved back to the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan in NYC.

ReelAbilities Cleveland and Akron
ReelAbilities Film Festival debuted September 2018 in Cleveland with a goal to enhance communication surrounding different disabilities in our community.  The city of Akron and a wonderful team has been working with us since August of 2019. Spring of 2022 we officially merged together as a collaboration of local organizations and community volunteers showcasing films and discussions on a larger scale throughout Northeast Ohio.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!