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People with Physical Disabilities (20)
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Alphée of the StarsHugo Latulippe 2012 1 h 22 minAlphée has a rare genetic disorder that hampers her development. Yet she continues to defy medical expectations. In a moving declaration of love for his daughter, filmmaker Hugo Latulippe and his family steal away for a year, focusing on his daughter's learning, so that she can integrate into a regular classroom when they get home. -
Alphée of the Stars (Short Version)Hugo Latulippe 2013 52 minAlphée has a rare genetic disorder that hampers her development. Yet she continues to defy medical expectations. When her parents intuitively reject the idea of placing her in a specialized classroom, they move their family to Europe for a year. Here, her father – filmmaker Hugo Latulippe – focuses on his fairy-like daughter's learning, in hopes of eventually integrating her into a regular classroom. This film is a moving declaration of love from a father to his daughter. It is also the story of a gamble: stealing away for a year in order to try and change the course of events. An intimate and revealing portrait, Alphée of the Stars puts the spotlight on a most unusual girl. With patience and tenderness, Latulippe – who believes in schools that embrace the diversity of humanity and do not discriminate – challenges our assumptions and reveals an unknown world that may have escaped us in our daily rush.
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Bearing Witness: Luke MelchiorDan Curtis 2003 51 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Luke Melchior (1973-2021) who, at 26, had already lived longer than most people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive wasting of the muscles. Knowing his life would be relatively short had made Luke feel an urgency about making a lasting contribution. Living independently, with the help of 3 homecare workers, he ran a web-based business selling outdoor gear, and chaired the board of the Disability Resource Centre in Victoria, BC, where he was a passionate advocate for the rights of the disabled.
Bearing Witness consists of 3 films, each approximately one hour long, on people with life-threatening illnesses. The series also profiles Jocelyn Morton, who died of liver cancer at 44, and Robert Coley-Donohue, who died of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) at age 74. -
Canadian Screen Magazine No. 41945 10 minBig Liz Brings Home 12 000 Happy Canadians: Canadian soldiers return home from Europe on the S.S. Queen Elizabeth. Troop Carrier to Airliner: Military aircraft are converted for use as commercial airplanes. B.C. Salmon Run: Commercial salmon fishing and processing in British Columbia is shown. Vets Regain Efficiency with Artificial Limbs: Rehabilitation programs for Canadian veterans allow them to become proficient in the use of artificial limbs. Students Produce Art China in New Industry: In Woodstock, Ontario, high school students participate in local ceramic-ware production.
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Discussions in Bioethics: Who Should Decide?Beverly Shaffer 1985 14 minOne of a series of short, open-ended dramas designed to stimulate discussion of values and ethics in relation to modern medical technology. This film deals with questions arising from advances in pre-natal diagnosis. Joanne, a victim of spina bifida, discovers that her unborn child has the same disease. A decision whether to terminate the pregnancy must be reached quickly. When her husband says that all he ever wanted was "a normal baby," Joanne counters with "What is normal?"
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Eye Witness No. 111949 11 minIn this installment of the Eye Witness series, we look at classrooms on rails, circa 1949. We visit Ontario forests north of Lake Superior, where children come from miles away to attend school in a school car. They receive a month's worth of homework at a time, to keep them busy until the next time the classroom comes around. In Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, we see a unique workshop that trains the physically-challenged as furniture makers and seamstresses, allowing them to earn a living and build self-reliance.
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Happiness Is Loving Your TeacherJohn N. Smith 1977 27 minThis short dramatic film describes the harrowing first assignment of a physically disabled substitute teacher confronted with a classroom full of unruly pupils. Tony is particularly hostile, and is given a detention that increases her hostility. One day at home, the teacher receives a call of apology from Tony, asking him when he will be returning to the school.
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He's Not the Walking KindSandra Wilson 1972 28 minA story from Victoria, British Columbia, of one young man who, despite a crippling malady, is determined to experience as many of life's offerings as possible. Brian Wilson is spastic, confined to a wheelchair, but he works at a job, looks after himself, and moves about from place to place on his own. Every day has its challenges and victories, and sometimes defeats. With this example of personal courage, the film provides insight into the private and daily struggle of the disabled.
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I'll Find a WayBeverly Shaffer 1977 25 minThis Oscar®-winning documentary presents Nadia, a 9-year-old girl with spina bifida. Her dream is to attend a regular school, even though she knows other kids will tease her. Wise for her young age, Nadia simply decides that she'll "find a way to deal with it." Despite having to overcome many obstacles, Nadia's got spunk and makes it clear she's not looking for sympathy. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
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InseparableDaniel Léger 2011 51 minIn their small country home in New Brunswick, Jean-Paul and Anne, who suffer respectively from physical and intellectual impairments, share an unwavering love for each other. Declarations of love, little gifts, jokes and affectionate nicknames highlight their deeply moving relationship, a relationship that transcends difference. Together, they look after Jean-Paul’s ailing parents. With great respect for those who confide in him, Daniel Léger presents love through the eyes of two people with disabilities, and in so doing, creates an inspiring lesson in happiness.
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The Impossible Takes a Little LongerAnne Henderson 1986 45 minThe Impossible Takes a Little Longer documents the work and personal lives of five physically disabled women. It shows how they are coping with the problems they share with all women, the problems they share with other disabled women and those unique to their particular circumstances. The film affirms that disabled women can lead full and productive lives as workers, as mothers and as valued community members. It informs both disabled women and the able-bodied about the possibilities of adaptations in the workplace, the use of technological aids and the need for support systems if disabled women are to have satisfying and productive lives. The Impossible Takes a Little Longer undermines the stereotypes and prejudices that further hinder a large segment of our population.
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My Friends Call Me TonyBeverly Shaffer 1975 12 minMeet Tony Rossi, a 10-year-old boy who can only distinguish light from shadow. Despite this difficulty, he leads a very active life. The short documentary shows the ingenious ways in which Tony manages his life. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
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SHAMELESS: The ART of DisabilityBonnie Sherr Klein 2006 48 minArt, activism and disability are the starting point for what unfolds as a funny and intimate portrait of 5 individuals. Director Bonnie Sherr Klein (Not a Love Story and Speaking Our Peace) has been a pioneer of women’s cinema. SHAMELESS: The ART of Disability marks Klein's return to a career interrupted by a catastrophic stroke in 1987. She turns the lens on the world of disability culture and the transformative power of art.
Joining Klein are a group of artists with diverse (dis)abilities. Humorist David Roche is taking his one-man show, The Church of 80% Sincerity, to New York’s off-Broadway. Poet Catherine Frazee is navigating a jam-packed schedule of teaching and speaking engagements. Dancer and choreographer Geoff McMurchy is organizing KickstART, an international festival of disability art. Sculptor and writer Persimmon Blackbridge is creating mixed media portraits from “meaningful junk”.
Klein gathers these artists for a pyjama party where they take a subversive look at Hollywood stereotypes of people with disabilities: The Monster, The Saint, The Psycho, the Poor Little Crippled Girl, etc. The artists decide to turn the tables, making a pact to meet a year later at the KicksART Festival with the intent of creating their own images of disability.
The film tracks this motley gang of five while they create and then present their self-representations. As we get to know each of these remarkable people driven by a passion for art and transformation, the everyday complexities and unexpected richness of life with a disability are exposed. -
SHAMELESS: The ART of DisabilityBonnie Sherr Klein 2006 1 h 11 minArt and activism are the starting point for a funny and intimate portrait of five surprising individuals with diverse disabilities. Packed with humour and raw energy, this film follows the gang of five from B.C. to Nova Scotia as they create and present their own images of their disabilities.
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"There Are Others Worse Off than Us ...."Yves Dion 1972 57 minThis is a look at the daily life of a young couple. Both wife and husband suffer from cerebral palsy. Although every movement is made with effort, and every day is a struggle, they choose, instead of dependence on others, to marry, to have a child and to derive strength and courage from each other. By showing their problems, their needs and their hopes, this film reaches out for greater public understanding and acceptance of the physically disabled in our midst.
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Toward IntimacyDebbie McGee 1992 1 h 1 minThis feature documentary follows a number of women with disabilities as they affirm their right to seek, develop and sustain intimate relationships with the partners of their choice. In this moving one-hour film, four disabled women from across Canada share their personal experiences, with particular emphasis on sexuality, self-esteem, stereotyping, and parenting.
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They Had Thirteen Children...Anika Lirette 2009 26 minIn this short documentary, filmmaker Anika Lirette retraces the unusual life of her Acadian grandparents, who had 13 children. Of the 13, eight had intellectual and physical disabilities - all caused by phenylketonuria, a genetic disorder now known to be easily managed through diet. Through first-person accounts and archival photography, the film traces the history of her family as it struggled with the consequences of the disorder, at a time when the Catholic Church condemned birth control and medical services were virtually non-existent. In French with English subtitles.
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UnspeakableJohn Paskievich 2006 55 minStuttering is as old as human speech. The biblical Moses stuttered. Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, King George VI and James Earl Jones were also afflicted with the disorder--yet it remains a medical enigma. Unspeakable examines the nature, history and treatment of a speech impediment that affects about 1% of the world’s population regardless of language, culture, class or ethnicity.
Throughout the ages there have been all sorts of explanations for what causes stuttering but attempts at curing it have been as frustrating as finding its cause. While stuttering inevitably causes emotional distress, which aggravates the disorder, there is no evidence that it is a personality disorder. Speech therapy for pre-schoolers who stutter can be quite effective but treatment for older children and adults is often frustrating and disappointing.
John Paskievich, the film's director, is a person who stutters. He also narrates and is an active participant in the film. His story and the stories of others in the film are poignant, funny, angry and courageous, providing eloquent testimony to what it means to live imprisoned in what the poet W.H. Auden called "the tower of stutter."
According to Paskievich, "the film is a call for liberation, not from stuttering, but from the ignorance and stigma that surround it." -
Wipe Out2008 50 minNarrated by Olympic gold medalist Ross Rebagliati, this film tells the story of three young men living with permanent brain damage as the result of head injuries they suffered pursuing extreme sports.
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We Regret to Inform You...Eva Colmers & Heidi Janz 2015 11 minIn a check-box society that functions by dividing us into neatly-defined categories, where does someone with a strong mind and a weak body fit in? Dr. Heidi Janz - award-winning playwright, accomplished academic, and self-described ‘crip’ – has a curious problem. Despite her obvious physical limitations she is denied financial assistance from government programmes because of her “productive” mind. Following Heidi through her everyday life, with all its unique responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges, We Regret to Inform You... offers an unsentimental, and unapologetic, look at what it means to be both “disabled” and “productive”.
