The Sydney Film Festival is screening the seventh year of its Screenability program, comprising films created by filmmakers living with disability.
Six works will screen in the program including SXSW Grand Jury Award winner Angel Applicant, Sundance-selected doc-fiction The Tuba Thieves, and the documentary Is There Anybody Out There? Also, in the selection is the world premiere of three Australian Screenability Filmmakers Fund for NSW short films, 14 in February, Chum and Fighting.
The program offers audio-described and open-captioned screenings of films as well as a diverse selection of English-subtitled films. It forms part of a broader initiative aimed at increasing the involvement of underrepresented groups in the screen industry, with a particular emphasis on showcasing films by filmmakers with disabilities within a festival context.
Programmer Rebecca McCormack said, Screenability empowers screen practitioners with disabilities, enabling them to share their genuine stories and introduce fresh perspectives to audiences with a program that features compelling and thought-provoking films from global storytellers.
The festival runs from June 7-18, 2023. Call 1300 733 733 or visit sff.org.au for more information.
Photo: UK filmmaker and writer Ella Glendining who was born without hip joints and with short thigh bones, navigates ableism and discrimination daily. Her documentary Is There Anybody Out There? chronicles her global quest that combines personal diaries with conversations with family members, friends, specialists and others with shared experiences.