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.
Founded 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.

ReelAbilities Film Festival | New Jersey

ReelAbilities programs have been presented in multiple locations across the state for the past six years. In 2017, Montclair State University, Kean University, and JCC MetroWest partnered to expand the reach of ReelAbilities programming in Northern New Jersey. Montclair State University served as the lead location for ReelAbilities New Jersey with additional film screenings and ReelAbilities programming offered at Kean University and JCC MetroWest. In 2019, The ReelAbilities Film Festival | New Jersey is expanding to include film screenings and special events throughout Northern and Central New Jersey.

Stayed tuned for festival dates and more information about programming in the following locations: Montclair State University, Kean Stage, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair Film, JCC MetroWest, JCC Bridgewater and Arts Unbound.

ReelAbilities Film Festival | New York

ReelAbilities Film Festival began in New York at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. Founded by Anita Altman and Isaac Zablocki in 2007; 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. In 2010, ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York expanded into a national program, presenting its one of a kind programming in cities throughout the United States.

ReelAbilities International Program

In 2012, Other cities across the US followed New York’s footsteps by hosting a ReelAbilities Film Festival, starting in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then, ReelAbilities events have been held in over a dozen cities across the world – transitioning from ReelAbilities North America to ReelAbilities International. 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 International headquarters recently moved back to the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan in NYC.