Cincy ReelAbilities film festival unifies inclusive community

ReelAbilities, which is the largest film festival in the country to showcase the artistic talents and life stories of people with disabilities, began in New York in 2007. But in 2011, Cincinnati became the first place to broaden the festival’s influence by making it a multi-city event, and for its second year running, ReelAbilities plans to increase its reach with a fervor that emphasizes the shared human experience. 

Co-chaired by Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled and Visionaries + Voices, the festival brings community members together to view award-winning films by and about people with disabilities, all while creating a dialogue and providing a platform for storytelling and educational panels that promote understanding and inclusion. 

For local spokespersons April Kerley and Kathleen Sheil, the festival is important in that it aims to show people that the only real disabilities that all people have are those of misguided perceptions. 

Kerley, a local Paralympian who swam in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing and who is also featured in the film “Warrior Champions,” which will air during the festival, says the event is about inclusion. All people experience a technical disability at some point in time, “even if it is only a temporary one, such as a sprained ankle or recovery from surgery,” she says. 

“It is not an ‘us versus them’ equation,” Kerley says. “We’re all in this together.” 

Sheil, who receives services from LADD and who is working as an event planner for ReelAbilities Cincy has Down syndrome, but she says she doesn’t allow her disability to define her. “I take that disability, and I put it into ability,” she says. 

Her attitude is a positive one, but Sheil says she knows all too well the horror stories of bullying that arise from a lack of understanding when it comes to people with disabilities.

Sheil’s boyfriend, who has autism and wears glasses, was singled out during his high school years because of his disability, she says. 

“They’d call him four-eyes and step on his glasses and break them,” Sheil says. “And that’s not what we do. That’s not the right thing to do. To me, it really doesn’t matter if you have a disability or not, and the reason why I say that is because everybody has a disability and everybody is different, and that’s okay.” 

It’s these stories that ReelAbilities Cincy hopes to share, as inclusion and acceptance are topics that are vital and necessary, according to Shiel. 

“I want people to hear how important it is to the people that have not just disabilities, but abilities, so that they can share their stories,” she says. “And so that way, they can be the people who shine, people who are stars and people who really know what’s going on in their world.” 

ReelAbilities will take place at various locations throughout Cincinnati from March 9-16.

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.