Films screened as part of the ReelAbilities Film Festival at BRIC.
Join BRIC and ReelAbilities Film Festival for a screening of short documentary films focused on dynamic and thoughtful music, dance and art-making in the disabled community. The evening will include a panel discussion with filmmakers, documentary subjects and audience Q&A, moderated by David Leventhal, Program Director, Dance for PD®, Mark Morris Dance Group.
People of all abilities and from all communities are encouraged to attend. The BRIC Ballroom is wheelchair accessible, films will be captioned, and accessibility aids will be available.
FILMS
Jmaxx and the Universal Language, Directed by Ryan Mayers
13 min, USA, Documentary
A teenager with autism turns to dance as a way to better express himself.
Shake with Me, Directed by Dir. Zack Grant
33 min, USA, Documentary
Debra Magid is an artist living with, and growing through, Parkinson’s Disease. Her art, health, and family bring her will to triumph.
Thrive, Directed by Paul Szynol
14 min, USA, Documentary
A look at the prodigious talent and irrepressible spirit of a musically precocious 12-year-old blind piano player.
MEET THE MODERATOR
David Leventhal, Program Director, Dance for PD®, Mark Morris Dance Group
Leventhal is a founding teacher and program director for Dance for PD®, an internationally-acclaimed program of the Mark Morris Dance Group that has been used as a model for dance classes for people with Parkinson's in more than 140 communities in 17 countries.
Committed to providing access to dance experiences regardless of mobility, he's produced a successful At Home DVD series and has helped conceive and design Moving Through Glass, a dance-based Google Glass App for people with Parkinson's. Leventhal received the 2018 Martha Hill Mid-Career Award, the 2016 World Parkinson Congress Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Parkinson's Community and was a co-recipient of the 2013 Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award from the Parkinson's Unity Walk. He has written about dance and Parkinson's for such publications as Dance Gazette and Room 217, and is a speaker at international conferences and symposiums about the about the intersection of dance, Parkinson's and health at cultural institutions and universities in the U.S and abroad. As a dancer, Leventhal performed principal roles with the Mark Morris Dance Group from 1997-2011 and received a 2010 Bessie (New York Dance and Performance Award).
ABOUT REELABILITIES FILM FESTIVAL
ReelAbilities Film Festival is the largest film festival in the world dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with different abilities. ReelAbilities brings communities together to explore, discuss, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience.
Contact Information:
718.683.5600
