Wheels of Freedom

Reengineering SAM

June 2016 •English

Sam Schmidt lived out his boyhood dream as an IndyCar racer, winning races and earning the title of IndyCar "Rookie of the Year" along the way. That dream came to an abrupt end when Sam crashed into a wall at 200 miles per hour, leaving him a quadriplegic. Reengineering SAM pulls the curtain back and shows up close the serious implications of a life of paralysis on Sam and everyone around him. Sam's accident rendered him physically helpless, never being able to brush his teeth, much less drive again, until a dedicated group of some of the brightest minds today stepped up to build him a car that he could drive, using only his head. Through groundbreaking adaptive technologies, Reengineering SAM chronicles Sam Schmidt's inspirational road back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and shows the promise of freedom and mobility for almost anyone confined to a wheelchair.

Passage à l'âge adulte

July 2020 •French

Watershed

Invalid date •English

This is the face of someone the world assumes was stripped of her potential at the age of 18. But tragedy is not Mallory Weggemann's reality. Suddenly paralyzed from the waist down, she was turned loose to become a Paralympic Champion and activist. As Mallory's story unfolds, we come to understand that it was because of, not in spite of, that moment that she discovered who she really is.

The Gimp Monkeys

January 2012 •English

What has four legs, five arms and three heads? The Gimp Monkeys. Craig DeMartino lost his leg after a 100-foot climbing fall. Pete Davis with born without an arm. Bone cancer claimed Jarem Frye's left leg at the age of 14. While the three are linked by what they are missing, it is their shared passion for climbing that pushed them towards an improbable goal - the first all-disabled ascent of Yosemite's iconic El Capitan.

Please Make Me Look Pretty

June 2022 •Korean

One hot summer, Eun-hye, a jobless who’s just knitting at home, becomes popular at ‘Munho River Market’ as an artist who draws ‘not pretty face’ pictures. When customers ask her to draw them to look pretty, she replies “But you’re already pretty”. Eun-hye takes great care for a long time to express each people’s personality and says that everyone is born pretty from the beginning. And now the number of happy faces has already reached 2,000.

Orgesticulanismus

January 2008 •English

Animator Mathieu Labaye's tribute to his father, who suffered from multiple sclerosis and was confined to a wheelchair.

My Way to Olympia

October 2013 •English

The film director Niko von Glasow undertakes a journey to athletes, who compete at the Paralympic Games in London 2012. He himself is a short-armed avowed hater of sport who cannot understand how anyone could take on such an odeal voluntarily. Even more since everyday life for people with a disability is most often challenging enough. He meets U.S.archer Matt Stutzman, Norwegian table tennis player Aida Dahlen, German swimmer Christiane Reppe, Greek boccia player Greg Polychronidis and a Sitting Volleyball team. Niko neither spares the athletes nor himself asking questions about life, sport and fears. With an ever growing appreciation for sport Niko attends the Paralympic Games and travels back to the ancient city of Olympia, where everything began and where boccia playing is prohibited.

Ramba Zamba

May 2023 •German

Ramba Zamba: a theater with handicapped and non-handicapped people/actresses and actors, which has been living and working on inclusive integrative togetherness impressively every day for thirty years now. The film accompanies the mentally and physically impaired actresses and actors for six months through the theatrical production of the play GOLEM, from the beginning of rehearsals to the premiere. In doing so, the film is also partly influenced by the portrayed persons themselves, quasi inclusively co-determined, by them capturing their own view and perception, their view of reality itself on film.

Mermaid

January 2018 •Spanish

Documentary that tells the story of Vianney Trejo, a young woman who struggles every day despite her disability. We go through her daily routine, as well as her passion, swimming, where she has consistently achieved triumphs and has been considered for international competitions.

(Sex)abled: Disability Uncensored

May 2009 •English

This 14 minute short documentary features a panel hosted by the Disabled Student Union at University of California Berkeley called "Are Cripples Screwed." In addition to the panel, viewers are introduced to a community of disabled individuals who address misconceptions and stereotypes about sex and disability while sharing stories about their intimate relationships. Enjoy engaging with Bay area community members and comedian Josh Blue (winner of Last Comic Standing) as they share their personal experiences with sex, dating and intimacy.

Do You Dream in Color?

February 2017 •English

Do You Dream in Color? in this documentary follows four courageous blind high school students. This coming-of-age story see's the students as they strive to prove that their disability will not hold them back from achieving their dreams.

Children of Utopia

May 2019 •German

Twelve years after they went to school together, six children from Berlin with and without disabilities are interviewed on the topic of inclusion in the German school system.

Vertrauensmann

April 2024 •German

How do you find your place in an ableist world as a person with a disability? Disabled Hugo Schmidt talks to the almost 90 year old Franz-Josef Sauer, who was left with a walking impairment by a tuberculosis infection in his childhood. In the 1990s Sauer received the German Federal Cross of Merit for his achievements in the disabled community. As a public servant in Münster and Düsseldorf he worked on several projects which still benefit his disabled peers. Sauer and Schmidt discover that, although they were born almost 70 years apart, their paths in life are not that different from each other.

Danse la Vie

Invalid date •French

Father

November 2020 •Chinese

The director's grandfather is a blind fortune teller and his father a real-estate owner. They have grievances against each other for dismantling the old house. Grandfather thinks it's time for him to leave and asks Father to quit his job. At the same time, an accident happens at Father's construction site. They are entangled in dealing with the hatred from the past and the kinship that has always existed.

The Current: Explore the Healing Powers of the Ocean

February 2014 •English

Documentary - The Current tells the story of individuals from all walks of life that have faced incredible obstacles, found the drive to overcome their disabilities, and have through water sports become real everyday heroes. - Bethany Hamilton, Missy Franklin, Mallory Weggemann, Anthony Robles, Jesse Murphree

Better Off Dead?

May 2024 •English

A documentary on assisted suicide, authored by actor and disability rights activist Liz Carr.

Still Tomorrow

June 2017 •Chinese

Yu Xiuhua was raised to hope for little from her life in the rural Chinese province of Hubei. At 19, Xiuhua’s mother encouraged her to marry a man nearly twice her age, fearful no one else would accept a wife with Xiuhua’s condition — cerebral palsy. But as her 20th anniversary approaches, Xiuhua’s poetry goes viral, and she becomes the voice of a rising feminist movement throughout China.

Concerto For Other Hands

June 2024 •Spanish

David dreams of being a pianist like his father, José Luis, who believes it impossible due to his son's physical characteristics: short arms, hands with four fingers and limited hearing. Thanks to his tenacity, David shows him that he can play in his own way and together they begin a musical path that culminates with a new challenge for David: premiering the difficult concerto for piano and orchestra that his father composed for him.

I Am Irani

September 2022 •Persian

Farhad, a well-known Iranian photographer, was born with a rare genetic disorder known as Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), which affects the development of the facial structure. Although TCS has made Farhad stand out all his life, his determination and resilience are what truly set him apart.