LISTEN to today's show featuring Isaac Zablocki
ABOUT ISAAC ZABLOCKI
Festival Founder & Director
Isaac Zablocki is the Director of Film Programs at JCC Manhattan. He attended film school at Columbia University and went on to work at Miramax Films. Previously, he produced and directed feature films and developed film educational programs for the Board of Education. Since 2004, Isaac has been developing film programs at the JCC including the Israel Film Center. Beyond ReelAbilities, he programs multiple film festivals annually, including the acclaimed Other Israel Film Festival, which focuses on Arab and underrepresented populations in Israel.
ABOUT ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York
Founded in 2007 by the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York is the largest festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with disabilities. The weeklong festival is renowned for its wide-ranging international film selection, riveting conversations, and performances, presented annually in dozens of venues across the New York metropolitan area. In 2010, ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York expanded into an international program, presenting its one-of-a-kind programming in cities throughout the United States, Canada, and South America.
ReelAbilities International Program
In 2012, other cities across the country followed New York’s footsteps by hosting ReelAbilities Film Festivals, starting with Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then, ReelAbilities events have been held in over 20 cities across the world – transitioning from ReelAbilities North America to ReelAbilities International. ReelAbilities events have expanded from the U.S., Canada, and 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 consistently received an increasing number of outstanding film submissions from around the globe. The ReelAbilities International headquarters is located in NY, expanding its screenings throughout schools, communities, offices and organizations in communities across the globe.
ACCESSIBILITY
ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York strives to include all people. All festival venues are wheelchair accessible, and the festival presents all films with open captions. The JCC offers CART (live transcription) at every event for introductions, post-screening conversations, and non-film programming. In 2018 for the first time, the JCC also offers Audio Description for the visually impaired for every feature film and several short films. Some other venues will also offer this accessibility aid. (Audio Description availability is noted on individual venue and program pages.) ASL interpretation will be available at many events at the JCC and may be available at other venues with advance notice. The festival catalog is available in Braille from the JCC box office. If you require an accessibility accommodation, please contact the specific venue presenting the event you would like to attend.
OUR MISSION
ReelAbilities Film Festival is the largest festival in the U.S. dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with disabilities. Founded in New York City in 2007, the festival presents international and 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.
FILM SELECTION COMMITTEE
Each year, ReelAbilities receives hundreds of submissions. The NY-based Film Selection Committee, comprised of individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, previews all submissions in different staged of consideration for the NY edition, after which each host city makes its own curation from that selection.
ReelAbilities NY 2022 Film Selection Committee:
Andrew Pilkington (Producer/Writer of Best Summer Ever)
Anita Altman (ReelAbilities co-founder)
Anita Hollander (National Chair, SAG-AFTRA Performers with Disabilities)
Juliette Romeo (Founder of Slamdance UNSTOPPABLE Film /Curator/Programmer, CEO, Media Jules)
Lynn Bartner-Wiesel (ReelAbilities co-chair)
Mayer Waxman (MA MSW, Managing Director Senior Communities, Self-help Community Services, Inc.)
Michelle Feig (ReelAbilities co-chair)
Peter Lubell
Ronnie Ellen Raymond (United Spinal Association, Member of the Board of Directors)
Sofiya Cheyanne (Actor / Advocate)
Xian Horn (beauty and accessibility advocate, speaker, instructor, Forbes contributor, and founder of the non-profit Give Beauty Wings.)
Each year, ReelAbilities receives hundreds of submissions. The NY-based Film Selection Committee, comprised of individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, previews all submissions in different staged of consideration for the NY edition, after which each host city makes its own curation from that selection.
ReelAbilities NY 2022 Film Selection Committee:
Andrew Pilkington (Producer/Writer of Best Summer Ever)
Anita Altman (ReelAbilities co-founder)
Anita Hollander (National Chair, SAG-AFTRA Performers with Disabilities)
Juliette Romeo (Founder of Slamdance UNSTOPPABLE Film /Curator/Programmer, CEO, Media Jules)
Lynn Bartner-Wiesel (ReelAbilities co-chair)
Mayer Waxman (MA MSW, Managing Director Senior Communities, Self-help Community Services, Inc.)
Michelle Feig (ReelAbilities co-chair)
Peter Lubell
Ronnie Ellen Raymond (United Spinal Association, Member of the Board of Directors)
Sofiya Cheyanne (Actor / Advocate)
Xian Horn (beauty and accessibility advocate, speaker, instructor, Forbes contributor, and founder of the non-profit Give Beauty Wings.)
LEARN MORE: About – ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York
jccmanhattan.org
