Film Selection Committees

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REELABILITIES NY 2024 FILM SELECTION COMMITTEE:

  • Abbey White, Associate Editor and News Writer, The Hollywood Reporter

    • Abbey White is an award-winning freelance entertainment, arts and culture reporter based in Brooklyn, New York. She has written news, features, reviews, opinion, interviews, lists, and galleries which have appeared in The Hollywood Reporter, Food & Wine, Entertainment Weekly, People, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Vox, The Nation, Gothamist, USA TODAY Network, Paste Magazine, 5280 Magazine, The Mary Sue, Syfy Wire, TV Fanatic and more. She received her M.A. from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and earned her B.A. in Liberal Studies with a certificate in journalism from Cleveland State University.

  • Anita Altman, ReelAbilities co-founder
    • Anita is a social entrepreneur and city planner. She is the co-founder of ReelAbilities, US’s largest film festival dedicated to showcasing films by, or about, people with disabilities. She is an active Jewish feminist, and a member of NYC’s B’Nai Jeshrun synagogue.
  • Anita Hollander, National Chair, SAG-AFTRA Performers With Disabilities
    • Anita has written & performed work throughout Europe, Asia, Russia and America, in film, TV, and live theatre. Her award-winning original solo musicals Still Standing & Spectacular Falls have played Off-Broadway, at the Kennedy Center, The White House, nationally & internationally. She serves as SAG-AFTRA National Chair of Performers with Disabilities. www.anitahollander.com
  • Eliezer Ramos, Business Engagement Associate for the NYC: ATWORK Employment Initiative at MOPD
  • Emily Ladau, Activist, Writer, Speaker
    • Emily Ladau is an internationally known disability rights activist, speaker, and author of Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally. She is the editor in chief of the Rooted in Rights blog, a platform dedicated to amplifying authentic narratives of the intersectional disability experience. She also co-hosts The Accessible Stall, a podcast about disability issues. Ladau has served as an expert source on disability issues, and her writing has been published in outlets including the New York Times, HuffPost, CNN, Self, Salon, Vice, The Daily Beast, Variety, and Marie Claire Australia, and other U.S. and world media outlets.
  • Lynn Bartner-Wiesel, ReelAbilities Advisory Board Member
    • Lynn has been with ReelAbilities for 8 years, wife of Elisha, and parent of 2 teenagers with learning differences, Massage therapist since 1994, Pilates Instructor since 1997, BFA in Visual Arts from SUNY Purchase.
  • Matthew Jeffers, Actor, Producer
    • Matthew Jeffers is an actor and producer, known for Unidentified Objects (2022), FBI (2018) and The Blacklist (2013).
  • Mayer Waxman,Executive Director, Queens Jewish Community Council
    • Mayer is a licensed social worker with a second Master’s in forensic psychology and rabbinic ordination. He holds a minor in speech and drama, and is almost as passionate about the creative arts as he is about mental health and social justice.  Mayer has been involved with ReelAbilities since its inception, when he was serving as the associate director of the Yachad/National Jewish Council for Disabilities.
  • Michelle Feig, ReelAbilities Advisory Board Member
    • Michelle is a social worker,  volunteering with ReelAbilities for six years as ReelAbilities NY festival co-chair.
  • Nicholas Barberio, video artist/composer/filmmaker
    • Nick is a photographer, filmmaker, and composer. He holds a degree in Clothing Design, a Masters in Costume History, and certificates in both film editing and screenwriting. He reviews for this festival and for Trenton International Film Festival as well.
  • Peter Lubell, writer, director, producer, and storyteller
    • Peter  is a writer, director, producer, and storyteller. He’s performed on stages from New York to Edinburgh, and his work has appeared in print, on radio, and on television.
  • Ronnie Ellen Raymond, United Spinal Association, Member of the Board of Directors
  • Xian Horn, Beauty and accessibility advocate, speaker, instructor, Forbes contributor, and founder of the non-profit Give Beauty Wings.
    • Xian is a joyful half-Asian woman with Cerebral Palsy, who serves as founder of the non-profit, Give Beauty Wings and consultancy Changeblazer. She is an advocate, speaker, blogger, and Exemplar for the AT&T NYU Connect Ability Challenge in the creation of Assistive Technology. Xian was named Women’s eNews’ 21 Leaders for the 21st Century in 2017 and in Walker’s Legacy Power 15 in 2018. Give Beauty Wings’ Self-Esteem programs began and continue at NYU’s Initiative for Women with Disabilities, the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, and M.S. 131. She is a freelance journalist at ForbesWomen and Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global. https://xianhorn.com/

REELABILITIES NY 2024 FILM SCREENING COMMITTEE:

  • Amy Carr
  • Amy Rosenfeld-Kass
  • Benjamin Feig
  • Brett Straniere
  • Cynthia Fromer
  • Elaine E. Katz
  • Jonathan Bartholomy
  • Julia Betancourt
  • Julie Ridge
  • Noam Schuldenrein
  • Sharon Bunkin
  • Tiffany Joy Butler