Picture this... REVIEW
Bridges - Fall 2001

Until now, the film world has mostly ignored people with disabilities, or stereotyped them in minor roles. Now, people with disabilities are not only appearing in movies as actors, but are also telling their own stories, as producers and directors.

There are only a handful of festivals around the world by, for and about people with disabilities, and this fall Calgary will be hosting the first one of its kind in Canada.

The idea for a festival came about when the Calgary SCOPE Society hired film?maker/organizer Vern Reynolds-Braun, with funding from the Calgary Community Lottery Board (CCLB), to help with its audiovisual materials.

However, Vern soon began to "think bigger." With professional filmmakers expanding their vision of a more inclusive society, and amateurs finding video to be a relatively inexpensive and easily accessible way to share information, the time seemed ripe for a Calgary festival focusing on disability culture. With encouragement from SCOPE's executive director, Ryan Geake, he began to look at the possibilities of organizing a film festival-appropriately named Picture This...

Vern has found, though, that conceiving an event is much easier than actually making it happen. As this is a new festival, he has had to work hard to get the word out. For the past several months Vern has been on a quest?which has taken him as far as California?for the best videos to show. And, he has sent out hundreds of invitations to filmmakers and organizations that work with people who have disabilities, requesting submissions of their work to the festival. With less than a month to go before "showtime" he is very pleased with the response he has received so far - totaling more than one hundred.

The movies may be on any topic in one of two categories: 1) videos about people with disabilities, and 2) videos made by people with disabilities. Organizers have acquired a really good mix of videos, ranging from low?budget and homemade to highly professional. "It has been especially exciting to see such a cross?section of our (disability) community coming together - people with many different kinds of disabilities, social activists and film?buffs," he says.

One unique aspect of the festival is that people will have a wide selection of films to choose from at any given time. In addition to having a large screen with a set schedule for viewing major shows, VCRs will be set up in small booths for individual screenings. People just need to show up and ask for the films they are interested in.

Of course, no film festival would be complete without awards; however, these are a little different from the usual. The Silk Purse award will go to the best film made on a shoestring; the Picture This... award will go to the best entry made by a producer, director and/or writer with a disability; and the Best of the Festival award will go to the judges' favorite. People with disabilities, local celebrities, and people who either make films or teach filmmaking will be judges for the event.

Is it expensive, you ask? No. The Calgary Foundation is generously funding the major costs of the festival. However, many volunteers are needed to take on tasks such as directing people to events, helping set up and take down equipment, organizing booths and VCRs, and making the popcorn.

"As is true for many events Calgarians have come to anticipate every year, such as the Calgary Folk Festival, Herland Festival and the Calgary International Children's Festival, without volunteers to help run it, there would be no festival," says Vern. "The Picture This... festival is no different; we need volunteers to make it happen."

The festival kicks off Friday, October 19th with some live theatre and a screening of some of the winning films. Films will run all day through Saturday and Sunday, with a gala on Saturday night during which the awards will be presented.

Sunday morning will focus on children's entertainment. As a bonus, free popcorn will be popping all weekend, and there will be free beverages to go with it. So plan ahead for a full weekend of entertainment.

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