Picture this... Film Festival
Published stories and articles
SCOPE
film festival celebrates voices of disability culture
CALGARY HERALD Tuesday, February 27, 2001
Recipient:
Picture This...
SCOPE film festival celebrates voices of disability culture
By JACQUELINE LOUIE
Celebrating the lives of people with disabilities - this is the focus of a film, video and multimedia festival taking place in Calgary this fall thanks in large part to The Calgary Foundation. Picture this… a festival that celebrates the voices of disability culture, will take place in October and will showcase films, videos, and multimedia presentations for, by and people with disabilities.
The three-day event - which organizers believe will be a first for Canada and one of only a handful throughout the world - is intended to create a venue for people with disabilities to tell their stories. "It's a chance for people who typically don't have a voice, to have one." says Ryan Geake, festival executive director and community development director with Calgary Scope Society. "The festival is a celebration of the knowledge, talent, experiences and perspectives that people with disabilities bring to the community." Adds Vern Reynolds-Braun, festival director and Scope multimedia projects manager: "If you're the kind of person who likes compelling stories . . . this festival will be rich with those images."
The Picture This... festival will feature professional productions and grassroots presentations.
Arron's Story, for example, is a 14-minute video telling the story of a young Calgarian who was revived after being under water for nearly an hour. Calgary Scope Society - a non-profit society that focuses on understanding the challenges facing those with disabilities - assisted in the creation of this and other videos. The Society has used video for a number of years to help people with disabilities tell their own stories. "Many people with developmental disabilities are unable to read or write, so video is an excellent medium for documenting their lives," Geake says.
Because media images can educate and help form public opinion, organizers expect the festival will help change stereotypes and promote greater acceptance of differences, as audiences learn more about the contributions that people with disabilities are making to society.
The film and video festival, to be held Oct, 19?21, will help spring Calgary to the forefront of the disability movement in Canada, organizers say, promoting positive images about people with disabilities with both local productions and international entries.
"We want to help people in Calgary in the disability community connect with people in the disability community all over the world," Reynolds-Braun says.