Keen and able

Malay Desai

This World Disability Day, we looked back at five memorable characters in films on disability… and reflect upon what we can seek from them.

‘The International Day of People with Disability’, ever since United Nations put it on the global calendar, falls on December 3 every year, and unlike its predecessor of two days, the World Aids Day, goes largely unnoticed in our part of the world.

Issues related to disability need not make it to mainstream news and discussions only after cases of discrimination or crimes, for we Indians have good reason to talk about and get sensitized to some facts. Facts such as the 70-100 million disabled citizens of our country.

Without any more statistical details to intimidate you, here we present our favourite picks of film characters; those who’re not necessarily disabled themselves, but have given away a crucial lesson or two through their films. Beware, this list is only indicative and post year 2000, for a fresher recall. For best results, call your local DVD parlour and revisit these masterpieces.

1. Jean Dominique – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Lauded as one of the greatest films on disability of all time, this Belgian drama is the true story of the extraordinary life of French magazine editor Jean Dominique, who suffers a stroke and finds himself ‘trapped in’ a completely paralysed body – but for his left eye.

Jean’s character, who is grappling through the film to accomplish and publish a book simply by batting his eyelid to communicate with his people, is one of the most inspiring ones you’ll see on screen. His therapist is an epitome of patience too, for reciting the entire alphabet repeatedly to wait for his ‘blink’.

Jean managed to write, edit and published his book.. and in the process also brought together his ex and current lovers, aged father and children. He died days after publishing it. The lesson: impossible is nothing!

2. Joseph Braganza – Khamoshi

Closer home, we dare not leave out one of Bollywood’s most endearing disabled characters – Nana Patekar’s Goan man of the musical Khamoshi. Credit to his incredible acting or to director Bhansali for etching out an in-depth character, but truth is that Mr Braganza taught many of us how to emote, and that there is no such thing as too much emotion.

Braganza, a deaf father and husband amidst tough domestic relationships, introduced the masses to the charms of the Indian Sign Language. That said, he also let his eyes do the talking… and crying too, bucketfuls of it.

Next time you see your child achieve/lose anything, be sure to let them tears flow like nobody’s watching. It’s a therapy that will win you many friends, and bring you closer to yourself!

3. Driss – The Intouchables

Earlier this year, a French film about a quadriplegic man and his relationship with his caretaker fleeted by our urban theatres, and chances are that you might’ve not heard of it at all.

Driss is a broke black man newly hired by an aristocrat for his personal upkeep as he has quadriplegia. The former, simply by being his brash, unapologetic and casual self, wins over the heart of his boss and others; and embarks upon many self-discovering adventures too. Like the Diving Bell, this one’s a true story too!

The lesson – you need not study protocol or think twice before interacting or forming new equations with disabled persons. A healthy dose of humour, friendship – even if insensitive – is preferable over ignorance.

4. Barfi

So much has been written and talked about Ranbir Kapoor’s portrayal of a deaf character that we thought it won’t be worth featuring it here; but  testing your retention capacities is worth it!

It’s a fact that unlike Barfi, most men with verbal or auditory impairments lack the panache and confidence to begin conversations with strangers or make the mischief he does in the film. But the point to be taken here is – they can be as flirtatious, friendly or conniving as any guy next door. Bring them out of their shell, using sign language is a good hook to do so!

Besides, thanks to some responsible film making, we learnt through Barfi that mockery or sympathy have no place in interactions with disabled persons.

5. Nikumbh sir – Taare Zameen Par

Finally, we must invoke our man Aamir’s character in the 2007 film to wind up this list. Firstly, here was a ‘hero’ of Indian cinema who’s not into daredevilry, but is a simple, passionate teacher. Nikumbh sir, through his sensitive attitude and body language in class (we saw much of that in Aamir Khan himself in Satyamev Jayate this year), won over the hearts of many.

Perhaps the most impact this pretty old-fashioned teacher with new values had was in the scenes when he roars at parents of the autistic child for being regressive. His words were lessons in parenting to many – especially to those who see their children as ‘investments’ – ready to push them into the most ‘lucrative’ fields.

Respecting each child’s uniqueness and abilities, whether he/she’s disabled or not, was Nikumbh sir’s biggest lesson, which is worth re-visiting regularly in India!

(An initiative of Trinayani, a nonprofit NGO founded by Ritika Sahni, the THIS ABILITY articles celebrates the intriguing lives of persons with disabilities. Trinayani works towards Disability Awareness and Support, communicating through workshops/seminars, print, radio, films and other electronic media.  Visit www.trinayani.org or write to us at trinayani.contact@gmail.com)

The Articles in the Series “This-Ability” are copyrighted material of Trinayani.  This Blog is carrying the series on the request of Ritika Sahni, Founder Trinayani.  Any queries or request to publish these articles please contact Ritika Sahni. The owner of this Blog is not responsible for any copyright infringement

Nilesh Singit

SUPERFEST 2010: International Disability Film Festival

May 10: From Profound to Profane: Superfest Shines a Spotlight on 13 Remarkable Films in 2-Day Festival Celebrating Disability Culture June 4 & 5 in Berkeley  When a boy’s fluttering eyelashes are finally recognized as communication, 16 years of silent isolation end and a soulful poet’s life takes flight in Like A Butterfly (Poland, Best of Festival), a lyrical, intimate portrait that’s a testament to the profound resilience of the human spirit; the adrenalin rush as the athlete pushes the limits, the awesome beauty of the snowy landscapes, the thrill as the snowboarder soars higher, the tricks, defying gravity, and then, Wipe Out (Canada, Merit) — three compelling stories about life after your head hits the icy hard-pack; unflinching and raw, at times unhinged, The Last American Freak Show (UK, Merit) turns a voyeuristic lens on a low-rent troupe of self-defined freaks and outsiders as they hit the road in a revival of a marginalized “art form” that many believe should have been “bagged and tagged” long ago.  These are just three of thirteen remarkable award winning-films, a taste of what’s in store at the 30th Superfest International Disability Film Festival, a community event celebrating disability culture June 4 & 5 in downtown Berkeley at the Gaia Art Center, 2120 Allston Way. The accessible and affordable event includes Friday and Saturday afternoon screenings of the 13 award-winning films, a lively “Q & A” with attending filmmakers, a meet and greet the film-makers reception and an award ceremony with live entertainment. The festival is presented by Culture!Disability!Talent! (CDT), a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to promoting quality, authentic films that represent the rich diversity of the world’s disability community.

Top Honors

The Best of Festival and Excellence Awards go to three films representing the power, passion, craft and art of the documentary. Taking us to cultures as disparate as Poland, China, and California, these superb films remind us that there are no language barriers or national boundaries in our universal need to be heard, recognized, understood, accepted, and yes, loved and embraced as a valued member of the human family.

Best of Festival Award

Without gimmicks or artifice, Polish filmmaker Ewa Pieta delivers an intricate portrait, charged with brilliant moments of emotional intensity. Like a Butterfly tells the story of Przemek, a 23 year-old poet who spent his first 16 years of life trying frantically to communicate, get someone, anyone, to notice him. When an institution worker finally recognizes his persistent tapping and blinking as dammed up intelligence, his desperate isolation comes to an end. With training on a communication system, Przemek dives passionately into his longed for world of words, eventually earning national recognition for his poetry.

Excellence & Spirit Awards

Rhianon Guiterrez’s When I’m Not Alone is as direct and down to earth as Sam Durbin, the extraordinary ordinary man at its center. Sam’s life, like this story, is all about possibilities. He heads the consumer advisory committee for California’s Department of Developmental Services and is a published author, achievements he never imagined while institutionalized or homeless. This powerful gem, which chronicles Sam’s efforts to reclaim his life with the help of Integrity House, a clubhouse to help people with disabilities become self-advocates, also earned the Spirit Award, given to an outstanding work by a filmmaker with a disability.  In China, families with autistic children face hostility, discrimination, and financial ruin. Services don’t exist. One small school, Stars and Rain, on the outskirts of Beijing, offers a ray of hope. Parents travel thousands of miles with their 5 year-olds to join this intensive 11-week residential course in skills and behavior, aimed at acceptance of the child by public schools. British director, Rob Aspey, skillfully draws us into how hard it is for the Children of the Stars to communicate their needs or show affection. We experience frustration, glimmers of hope, the joy of a father hearing “I love you” for the first time from his son, and our hearts travel with them as they leave and head home to an uncertain future.

The P.K. Walker Award

Named for experimental artist, Pamela Walker, a pioneer in the Berkeley disability arts scene, this award is given to a film that pushes artistic boundaries, that surprises us, that demonstrates innovation in expressing disability experience. With White Sound, Australian filmmaker Sarah Tracton, gives us a totally fresh take on what it means to hear, to listen, when she uses her own hearing loss as catalyst to visually explore the texture of sound.

Awards for Achievement and Merit

Two of the three Achievement Award winners provide windows into the experiences of people restarting their lives somewhere new. Miya of the Quiet Strength was life long activist Miya Rodolfo-Sioson, who first drew national attention as the sole survivor of a campus mass shooting before moving from Iowa to Berkeley to continue her fight for human and civil rights out of the spotlight glare. Filmmaker Daniel Julien’s loving tribute captures the essence of this beloved and respected community worker and the family who supported her efforts. In Beyond Borders, children and adults from Iraq, Uzbekistan and Morocco immigrate to Belgium seeking much needed services or to escape oppression and war in their homelands. Director Brecht Vanmeirhaeghe introduces us to a boy with Down syndrome and his family, a mother who is developing multiple sclerosis and a young blind man determined to run a marathon.

The third Achievement winner and two of the five Merit Award winners are films that focus on the power of art to represent, challenge, and transform ideas about disability, films that call into question the nature of artistic expression. Achievement winner, The Portrait of a Disabled Man, is a documentary about the discovery of an unusual 400 year-old Austrian painting. The man’s body is laid out, as if for a medical examination, but his head is turned to eye the viewer and challenge our gaze. Filmmakers Volker Schoenwiese and Bernd Thomas explore views by disability scholars, activists, and artists on the history and significance of the painting.

Two Merit Award winners also delve into the significance of the gaze that people with visible disabilities are subjected to in public, and how disabled artists can choose to refashion it into performance. Richard Butchkins takes us on a long and winding road trip with The Last American Freak Show, a rough, sometimes messy look at a troupe of unapologetic “freaks” who flaunt their differences and charge you to gaze. David Levitt Waxman takes us inside The Art of Movement with the Bay Area’s world renowned AXIS Dance Company. These dancers, with and without disabilities, know full well that the audience is at first absorbed by what they perceive as different and resist seeing their performance as art, so they raise the artistic bar and push the creative envelope until they astonish audiences with their innovative moves.

Challenging Assumptions

The three remaining Merit winners and the special award for outstanding emerging artist go to filmmakers for films that demonstrate a strong creative vision and powerful point of view. They are:

• My Friend Claude driven by a bluesy sound track that serves as narrative, is Canadian Yves Langlois‘s unsentimental tribute to his close friend that captures his joie de vivre as he fulfils his bucket list;
• Wipe Out is Lionel Goddard’s compelling, close-up of three young Canadians who were head injured through extreme snowboarding and are now involved in public education about safety measures;
• Far From Home is Elissa Moon’s incisive look at life in Laguna Honda, and how a lawsuit against the country’s largest nursing home enabled some disabled residents to escape institutionalization into independent living in the community; and
• Winner of Emerging Artist award Laurence Parent for Je me Souviens: Excluded from the Montreal Subway Since 1966, her passionate and poetic expose of a long, so far futile battle for accessibility of the Montreal subway.

Public Screening Schedule and Reception/Awards Event

Public screenings of the award-winning films will take place on Friday, June 4, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday, June 5, 12-5 p.m., at the Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston (one block from the downtown Berkeley BART station) in Berkeley, California. Tickets are $5-$20/day sliding scale and will be sold only at the door. Please refrain from wearing perfume and other scented products. A “Meet the Makers” reception will take place on Saturday, June 5, 6-7 p.m., followed by an awards ceremony with live entertainment from 7-9 p.m. The reception and awards ceremony are free and open to the public.

Access Accommodations Available

The venue is wheelchair accessible. Braille and large print screening schedules are available. All films will be audio described and most are captioned; check screening schedule. Film introductions, as well as the reception and awards event will be ASL interpreted.

For additional access information, or to get a copy of the SUPERFEST 2010 screening schedule, visit http://www.culturedisabilitytalent.org/superfest/index.html, e-mail: info@culturedisabilitytalent.org or call the CDT voice mailbox at 510-845-5576.

Sponsors

Superfest 2010 is made possible in part by the generosity of: AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah, the California Arts Council, Gabriel Ledger, M.D., the National Arts and Disability Center at UCLA, and the True North Foundation. CDT is also currently funded by the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Program.

DISABILITY NEWS ASIA

Telework firm urges federal training on hiring disabled workers

By Ed O’Keefe

Almost half of human resources officials responsible for hiring and retaining federal workers say they have not received adequate training on how to manage and retain employees with severe disabilities, according to the results of a survey by the Telework Exchange and the Federal Managers Association set for release Monday. Many are also unfamiliar with mandates designed to promote the hiring of disabled applicants and hiring rules that allow for the noncompetitive hiring of disabled people. Though 71 percent of the respondents said their agencies are committed to hiring disabled workers, 40 percent said they have not received adequate training to effectively manage disabled employees, according to the survey. The Telework Exchange, continuing its push for advancing teleworking, and the Federal Managers Association partnered on the study in advance of a conference set for next week that will press the Obama administration on the teleworking option for federal workers. “Telework is certainly one way that would allow many people with disabilities to utilize their talents on behalf of the government, while overcoming barriers that may keep them out of the workplace,” said Todd Wells, executive director of the Federal Managers Association.

The survey also noted that 45 percent of federal hiring managers surveyed said they have not received adequate training on retaining disabled employees. The voluntary online survey of 513 federal hiring officers from across the government was taken between Jan. 25 and Feb. 5, roughly a month before the Office of Personnel Management held a training session for more than 600 federal hiring managers about hiring and retaining disabled workers. During the session OPM unveiled a new online training tool for hiring officials that instructs them on how to use Schedule A, a noncompetitive hiring waiver that permits agencies to hire severely disabled individuals, an OPM spokesman said. The agency is developing a similar training tool for disabled applicants wishing to be hired under the waiver. “We are working diligently to attract and hire individuals with disabilities,” OPM spokesman Edmund Byrnes said in a statement.

OPM and the Labor Department’s Office of Disability Policy also will hold a hiring fair on April 26 at the Washington Convention Center. More than 70 agencies with job openings have been invited to search a database with more than 4,000 resumes of disabled applicants. Agencies are encouraged to schedule interviews with disabled applicants at the April event, OPM said. A House committee last week approved a bill that would require the federal government to develop plans to expand the policy across the federal workforce. Agencies would be required to hire a telework managing officer, responsible for overseeing implementation of the policy. By the end of fiscal 2011 OPM Director John Berry, a teleworking advocate, hopes to double the number of teleworkers from the 102,900 of fiscal year 2009. The White House said Kareem Dale, President Obama’s special assistant on disability policy, will address the survey’s findings at next week’s conference.

Washington Post Sunday, March 28, 2010; 9:17 PM

A wider screen

The movie My Name is Khan, starring the sparkly eyed superstar of Indian cinema, Shah Rukh Khan, has been bought by Hollywood’s Fox studio, ushering yet another merger between the East and West, and more greatly, serving to increase awareness. The character suffers from Asperger syndrome, an illness which in communities is often shunned. Yet, one of its outcomes is to produce people of exceptional intellect.

The power of cinema has never been doubted. It transports you to a world which traditionally depicts fairytale concepts, a chance to escape the humdrum realities of life. However, increasingly Indian cinema has undergone a sort of revolution, both in concept and content. Major stars have started to put their names on alternative movies which target real-life issues, increasing awareness, initiating a cultural re-analysis of illness and the challenges included with acceptance.

Rani Mukherjee’s role as a blind student in Black, and Aamir Khan in Taare Zameen Par have won critical acclaim and ushered in a change in perception. Autism spectrum disorders, specifically Asperger syndrome, was defined in the 70s as an illness affecting children, but research indicated that its presence lingers on into adulthood. Though initial interest was limited to academia, attention slowly filtered through, along with indications that physicists and mathematicians such as Paul Dirac, Albert Einstein, and Isaac Newton had some form on mild autism. Thus the question: why is this illness often dismissed as spurts of sudden madness? The simple fact is that those who suffer skills are often at odds with norms, and their mind wanders. It is through these wanderings that we have made leaps in knowledge and it is assuring that Bollywood has acknowledged the need to set facts straight.

Indian Express, Editorial Monday , Aug 10, 2009 at 0341 hrs