Screenability, a platform for practitioners with disability, will be showing at the Sydney Film Festival in June. The 2022 program features the world premiere of three Australian short films selected as part of the Screenability Filmmakers Fund for Screen NSW: Inspire Me, Voice Activated and All Silent Dogs.
Also screening are the Australian feature and audience award winning drama Shadow in which a group of activists hold a public meeting, only to discover the greatest threat to their future is already in the room; Slamdance Grand Jury Prize winner, Straighten Up and Fly Right, an intimate study of a woman with disability staring down a brutal New York winter; and the Directing Award-winning documentary at Sundance, I Didn’t See You There.
The festival maintains its inclusion policy with audio described and open captioned screenings and over 90 English-subtitled films in the program.
“Screenability is part of a suite of initiatives designed to boost the participation of underrepresented groups in the screen industry showcasing films by filmmakers with disability in a festival context,” curator, Rebecca McCormack said. “It places screen practitioners with disability at the centre of the narrative, bringing new ideas to audiences by sharing their authentic stories.”
Screen NSW acting head David Gordon said, “Screenability returns in full force this year providing poignant and insightful perspectives from exciting new talents with disability including NSW filmmakers.”
Image credit: Reid Davenport