Toronto Film Festival Showcasing ReelAbilities

Did you know there’s a film festival in Toronto this week? Bet you didn’t! Well, don’t miss this one. The ReelAbilities Film Festival will be in town from May 12 to 19.

The one film I really enjoyed that will be screening at this festival is A Whole Lott More, a must watch.

Regular ticket prices to screenings are $12. To ensure the festival is financially accessible, community tickets for students, seniors, and those on fixed incomes are $8. Tickets can be purchased in person at TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St. W.), daily from 10am-10pm, over the phone at 416-599-8433, 10am-7pm, and online at our box office.

There’s quite an extensive list of films on for the duration of the festival!

• AUTISM IN LOVE by Matt Fuller is a feature-length documentary that explores the lives of four autistic adults as they pursue and manage romantic relationships. This feature documentary is preceded by the short film PERFECT about a man who meets with his psychologist after what he considered to be a disastrous first date due to his involuntary tics.
• In ENDLESS ABILITIES, four best friends drive across the country in search of adaptive sports for individuals with physical disabilities. From rehabilitation patients to Paralympic athletes, this documentary captures the reality of broken boundaries and common goals among all who are active.
• In the short film HEAR THIS!, 10-year-old Tristan wants his dad to become the trainer of his soccer team. When the club won’t allow it because his father is Deaf, Tristan decides to prove them wrong.
• In the short film ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, two boys face off. But when the stakes are at their highest, will victory be sweet?
• A WHOLE LOTT MORE by Victor Buhler is a documentary that brings more awareness to employment issues for people with disabilities and the controversies around sheltered workshops. A panel on accessible employment will follow. This is preceded by short fiction film THE INTERVIEWER by Genevieve Clay-Smith and Robin Bryan, about a lawyer looking to make a difference in the world.
• TOUCH OF THE LIGHT by Jung-chi Chang is a fiction feature film starring a real-life blind piano prodigy from rural Taiwan and his relationship with a young woman who dreams of becoming a dancer despite enormous challenges.
• CINEMABILITY by Jenni Gold. Using vivid clips from Hollywood’s most beloved motion pictures and TV shows, this dynamic documentary takes a detailed look at the evolution of disability in entertainment by going behind the scenes to interview filmmakers, studio executives, film historians, and movie stars.
• THE WAY HE LOOKS by Daniel Ribeiro. Leonardo is a blind teenager feeling overprotected by all of those around him. Struggling towards a more independent life, he has to overcome the vulnerability orbiting his condition.
• DEAF JAM by Judy Lieff. Aneta Brodski is an Israeli immigrant and a deaf teen. First introduced to American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry, she boldly enters the spoken word slam scene. In a wondrous twist, Aneta meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet. The two women embark on a collaboration/performance duet – creating a new form of slam poetry that speaks to both the hearing and the Deaf.
• THE RAINBOW KID by Kire Paputts is a gritty coming of age story set in rural Ontario that follows Eugene, a teenager with Down syndrome, on the journey of his life.
• GABRIEL by Lou Howe. Rory Culkin delivers an electrifying performance as Gabriel, a vulnerable and confused teenager longing for stability and happiness amidst an ongoing struggle with mental health and recovery.
• Anita, a young woman with Down syndrome, gets separated from her mother after a bomb explodes at their Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. As she wanders the city searching for her mom – alone for the first time ever – she discovers an inner strength few could have expected.
• In I AM, twelve people from varied backgrounds, age, and life experiences individually respond to key statements that demonstrate both the differences and similarities in human nature.