ReelAbilities is the United States' largest film festival dedicated to showcasing films by, or about, people with disabilities . It was founded by JCC Manhattan in New York City in 2007.
22-572: The Festival's Co-directors are Isaac Zablocki and Ravit Turjeman. ReelAbilities strives to make the festival as fully accessible as possible. In 2012, it screened films in 23 locations in all five of New York City's boroughs. All films screened by the Festival are captioned. It is also "the only festival in New York that prints film programs in Braille and features audio descriptions for the blind". In March 2015,
44-927: A series focusing on the question of censorship and freedom of expression as part of the New Center for Arts and Culture's multi-disciplinary citywide exhibition Words on Fire, as well as a series celebrating pioneering Jewish women in America in conjunction with Jewish Women’s Archive. In 1999, the Boston Jewish Film Festival was named “Best Film Series” by the Boston Society of Film Critics . In 2003, Artistic Director Kaj Wilson and Executive Director Sara Rubin were honored with Image Awards for Vision and Excellence by Women in Film & Video in New England. In 2004, it hosted
66-669: Is a non-competitive event, although since 2002 it has offered audience members the opportunity to cast ballots for favorite Documentary file, Feature Film and Short Film. It screens International and American independent films and videos that highlight the Jewish experience; deal with themes of Jewish culture, heritage or history; and films of particular interest to the Jewish community. The Festival also presents narrative, documentary, animated and experimental works. Projects must be completed in 35mm, 16mm, Beta or 1/2 inch format. They can be of any length, but must not have previously been screened in
88-534: Is an annual film festival that screens the best contemporary films on Jewish themes from around the world. The festival presents features, shorts, documentaries, and conversations with visiting artists in order to explore the Jewish identity , the current Jewish experience and the richness of Jewish culture in relation to a diverse modern world. Founded by filmmaker Michal Goldman in 1989, the Boston Jewish Film Festival has grown from 10 screenings to more than 60 throughout
110-501: Is every filmmaker's dream." - Joe Swanberg , director of Hannah Takes the Stairs "[T]he annual Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFB) has accomplished more in its five-year history, than some festivals do with twice as much time and resources. - Matt Dentler, Indiewire "Definitely one of the best-run film festivals I have been to." - Bob Odenkirk, director of Melvin Goes to Dinner "Though
132-875: The Boston area including Brookline , Newton , Somerville and Cambridge venues such as the Museum of Fine Arts and the Coolidge Corner Theatre . In the past 30 years, the Festival has presented more than 800 films - many of them US or Massachusetts premieres – and welcomed hundreds of thousands of audience members. Many of the films that have been shown have gone on to be nominated for, or win, Academy Awards including The Pianist (winner, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay, 2002), Nowhere in Africa (winner, Best Foreign Film, 2002) and The Personals (winner, Best Short-Subject Documentary, 1998). The Annual Festival
154-484: The 4th Conference of Jewish Film Festivals, welcoming Jewish Film Festival directors from around the globe to Boston. In 2006, Executive Director Sara L. Rubin was recognized and honored for her career and her dedication to French culture by the French Minister of Culture by being introduced into France's Order of Arts and Letters , with the rank of Chevalier (Knight). In 2007, departing Artistic Director Kaj Wilson
176-910: The Boston Society of Film Critics in the festival's inaugural year of 2003 and was the only film festival on that list. The book The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide named the festival "the premier film festival in Boston" and the festival has since been recognized by the Boston Globe , Boston Herald , Boston Phoenix , Boston Magazine , Indiewire , and countless filmmakers as "the premier film festival in Boston". In 2008, MovieMaker Magazine named IFFBoston among "The Top 25 Film Festivals Worth The Entry Fee". The festival debuted in 2003 with an audience of 10,000 people and has grown in size each year since (2004–15,000 people, 2005–18,000 people, 2006–22,000 people, 2007–23,000 people, 2008–23,400) making it
198-437: The Boston area's finest art-house cinemas. Over 1,200 films are submitted to the festival each year and roughly the best 90-100 of those are shown. Over 120 screenings take place, most with director Q&A sessions following them. There are also nightly parties for guest filmmakers and passholders as well as weekend panel discussions. The Independent Film Festival Boston was named "one of the top five film series in Boston" by
220-602: The Boston area. Boston Jewish Film has grown from presenting films once a year at the annual festival to a flourishing year-round arts organization, with programs and screenings taking place nearly every month. Since 1998, the Festival has presented more than 275 films and welcomed another 75,000+ audience members outside the November Festival. This also includes a Summer Cinematheque series featuring new films presented in July and August. The twelve day event each November showcasing
242-580: The Daily Show 's Rob Corddry and Michael Cera . Films shown at the festival in the first six years included Half Nelson , Murderball , The Corporation , The Proposition , The Saddest Music in the World , Ivans XTC , Lonesome Jim , The Puffy Chair , Fay Grim , Hannah Takes the Stairs , Mutual Appreciation , Me and You and Everyone We Know , Transsiberian , My Winnipeg , Medicine for Melancholy , Ballast , Encounters at
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#1732891314493264-668: The End of the World , The Story of the Weeping Camel and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster as well as the U.S. premier of Azumi . The festival shows narrative features, documentary features, short films, animation, and experimental works. The Independent Film Festival Boston awards Grand Jury, Special Jury prizes, and Audience Awards in the categories of narrative feature, documentary feature and short film. The juries are composed of top film industry professionals. The Independent Film Festival Boston also holds monthly screenings throughout
286-757: The NY edition of the festival opened on the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum and was featured for 7 days in 37 venues throughout the greater NY metropolitan area. ReelAbilities is now a touring film festival throughout the United States. Cities on its itinerary include: Disabilities of any kind are explored in the films in the ReelAbilities Film Festival programming. In 2012, films featured included disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, blindness and mental health. ReelAbilities screens films from
308-626: The United States as well as international films, including from countries such as Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Germany, and the United Kingdom. According to Festival Director Isaac Zablocki, most of the films originate outside the United States: ...specifically in Europe, where there's traditionally a lot of smaller films and access to government funds. Lots of these films are amazing, and, best of all, we get to show premieres. Many of
330-573: The best contemporary films from around the world on Jewish themes, accompanied by visiting filmmakers, panel discussions, musical events and more. For the first time in 2019, Boston Jewish Film presented the Boston Israeli Film Festival which included documentary, comedy, drama and children's films. In 2011, Boston Jewish Film became the host for ReelAbilities Boston, Boston’s disability film festival. Like Boston Jewish Film, ReelAbilities uses film to increase awareness and understanding in
352-459: The community. ReelAbilities strives for inclusion of all people and is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with different abilities. Boston Jewish Film often presents a special advance screening, sometimes with a visiting filmmaker or actor. Other times, members are offered free tickets to word-of-mouth screenings at a local theater. These screenings are chances to see films before
374-507: The films are embraced outside of the U.S., but we're often the first or only American festival to show these movies. Jeff Remz, a communications and marketing manager of the Boston Jewish Film Festival , helped sponsor ReelAbilities in Boston in 2012. Remz says, "Disabilities don't know boundaries by way of country, ethnicity, religion, or community." Boston Jewish Film Festival The Boston Jewish Film Festival (BJFF)
396-809: The general public. Boston Jewish Film works with other film festivals throughout the year to bring quality films to the Boston area. Recent and ongoing partners include the Boston French Film Festival, the Boston LGBT Film Festival, the Independent Film Festival of Boston and the Roxbury International Film Festival. From time to time, the Boston Jewish Film Festival curates a special series either independently or in conjunction with another organization. These series are often thematically-based and have included
418-783: The largest film festival in New England . Special guests of the festival in its first six years included Steve Buscemi , Chris Cooper , Sir Ben Kingsley , John Waters , Will Arnett , Lili Taylor , Illeana Douglas , Melvin Van Peebles , Noam Chomsky , Michael Almereyda , Robert Vaughn , Bill Pullman , Dylan Baker , Famke Janssen , Mary Stuart Masterson , Project Runway ' s Jay McCarroll, Todd Graff , Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney , Ted Hope , Bob Odenkirk , Bernie Worrell , Ryan Fleck , Anna Boden, Alexandre Rockwell , Eliza Dushku , Danny Huston , Jesse Eisenberg , Doug Pray , Albert Maysles , Saturday Night Live 's Fred Armisen ,
440-404: The major game in town: a smartly programmed and risk-taking festival that balances 'big' indie films with the best in local filmmaking." - Ty Burr, Boston Globe "IFFBoston has redefined the term 'filmmaker friendly' for every producer, director, editor, cinematographer, composer and actor that has been lucky enough to experience the festival. The audiences are passionate and intelligent, which
462-830: The year. The main hub of the festival is the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square , Somerville, Massachusetts . Other venues used by the festival in its first seven years include the Coolidge Corner Theatre, the Brattle Theatre , the Museum of Fine Arts , the Institute of Contemporary Art , and the Jimmy Tingle Theatre. "Yet in only its third year, the Independent Film Festival of Boston has become
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#1732891314493484-507: Was honored for her work by a commendation from the Boston Society of Film Critics . Independent Film Festival of Boston The Independent Film Festival Boston is a not for profit film festival in Boston, Massachusetts . The Independent Film Festival Boston (also known as IFFBoston or IFFB) was created in 2003 by the non-profit organization the Independent Film Society of Boston. The festival takes place each April in
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