The ReelAbilities International Film Festival is the first of its kind to present award-winning films by and about people with disabilities.
"Founded in 2007 at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, ReelAbilities has grown from a single New York-based disability film festival into a leading independent nonprofit and the premiere global exhibitor of disability-focused cinema. Through groundbreaking, award-winning films and innovative programming, we challenge stereotypes, celebrate authentic disability representation in movies, and expand opportunities for disabled creators worldwide. "
ReelAbilities Columbus is an affiliate festival and is on their 12th festival season.
They now have film screening events in the fall and spring of each year.
Screenings are followed by discussions and programming that bring together the community to explore, discuss, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience.
All films are free and open to the public!
ReelAbilities Screening: Spectrum Shorts
Join Art Possible Ohio and The Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center for the October screening of Spectrum Shorts at the ReelAbilities Film Festival Columbus. Spectrum Shorts is a collection of shorts about different aspects of autism. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the curator, Tristan Turner. Doors open at 6:30…
ReelAbilities Screening: Dream Touch Believe
Join Art Possible Ohio and the Columbus Museum of Art for the November screening of the ReelAbilities Film Festival Columbus for Dream Touch Believe. Doors open at 12:30 PM, the film will begin at 1:00 PM. Feature Film: My Brain: After the Rupture Cost: Free and open to the public. To register visit the…
Short Film Program at Ohio State Dance
Art Possible Ohio, In partnership with the Ohio Dance Festival invites you to come see short films “Dosh” and “Donald” “Dosh” is a compelling short film that follows a mother and her son during a pre-wedding ritual, where the son’s lifeis unexpectedly put at risk. Confronted with her own hearing loss, the mother must make…
Okthanksbye
Film: Okthanksbye Director: Nicole van Kilsdonk Year: 2023 Running Time: 92 minutes Film Description: Classmates at a boarding school for the deaf, shy Jamie and bold Imane set off on an unexpected road trip to Paris. When things do not go as planned, and the trip takes an adventurous turn, Jamie must come out of…
Tell Them You Love Me
Film: Tell Them You Love Me Director: Nick August-Perna Year: 2023 Running Time: 103 minutes Film Description: This true-crime documentary follows the story of an esteemed university professor who becomes embroiled in a controversial affair with Derrick Johnson, a non-verbal man with cerebral palsy, leading to a criminal trial that would challenge our perceptions of…
The Quiet Epidemic
Join ReelAbilities Film Festival Columbus for an incredible film experience at All People Arts on January 11th, 2025. Film: The Quiet Epidemic Directed by: Lindsay Keys and Winslow Crane- Murdoch Film Description: After years of living with mysterious symptoms, a young girl from Brooklyn and a Duke University scientist are diagnosed with a disease said…
ReelAbilities Film Festival Columbus Presents: Name Me Lawand
ReelAbilities Film Festival Columbus film festival is showing another film this fall at the Columbus Museum of Art. We are so excited to be showcasing the film, “Name me Lawand” directed by Edward Lovelace on October 20th! We are also excited to be partnering with the musuem to offer a free ASL Lead tour of their…
ReelAbilities Film, “La Lucha” at GCAC
ReelAbilities Columbus film festival is back this fall with another film showing this fall at the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC)! We are so excited to be showcasing the film, “La Lucha” directed by, Violeta Ayala on September 18th! Schedule of Events 6:30 PM – Event begins 8:30PM: Event Ends Film Description: Individuals in Bolivia,…
ReelAbilities Film, “Jasmine is Star” at Berwick Alternative
ReelAbilities Columbus film festival is back with another film showing at Berwick Alternative Elementary school grounds! We are so excited to be showcasing the film, “Jasmine is a Star” directed by Jo Rochelle, on March 18th! This film will be an outdoor event! Snacks will be provided by Trader Joes and a food truck as…
ReelAbilities Film, “Telephone” at Ohio State Dance
Art Possible Ohio, In partnership with the Ohio Dance Festival, and co-directors, Heather Shaw and Krishna Washburn, Art Possible Ohio invites you all to come see “Telephone”! “Telephone” is an activist screen dance documentary celebrating emotionally rich, poetic audio description for dance, which allows blind and visually impaired people to be included fully in the…
ReelAbilities Film, “being Michelle” at Urban Arts Space
March 22, 6:30 PM BEING MICHELLE follows the astonishing journey of a deaf and disabled woman who survived incarceration and abuse under unimaginable circumstances by a system that refused to accommodate her needs as a deaf person with autism. Michelle’s trajectory changed when she met Kim Law, a blind volunteer life coach who teaches classes…
Nikki Swift
ReelAbilities Columbus Director
Nikki Swift has been a practicing filmmaker and artist for most of her life. Recording day-to-day life since she was a teenager, she imagines herself a tinkerer of sorts exploring various image making devices to fit her creative whims. Her most recent works move in two directions. The first is a continued series of personal experimental video essays on her life as an American orphan. The second is a series of video installations that combine social commentaries with archival materials, found footage, and a connection to the historical avant-garde film and video movements. Her background includes a Bachelor of Art in both Film Studies and Art History from The Ohio State University and a Masters in Library and Information Science with a focus in digital collections preservation and access from Kent State University. Since 2003, she has been working as an artist, curator, and media consultant for businesses, non-profits, and residents of the Central Ohio area while producing her own work which have shown at festivals and competitions across the US and abroad. In 2014 she was awarded a Greater Columbus Arts Council Media Arts Fellowship. Over the past decade Nikki has provided many services to the public offering workshops for the Greater Columbus Arts Council, 4-H, and Adobe. She has a long history of curating moving image programs around Columbus, Ohio as part of organizations such as The Columbus Moving Image Art Review, The Columbus International Film + Video Festival, Comfest, and the Independents Day Festival. In 2020 Nicolettecinemagraphics was awarded the Ohio Governors' Award for Small Business Supporting the Arts by the Ohio Arts Council.
General Inquiry: info@artpossibleohio.org
Nikki Swift (Technical Director): nikki@artpossibleohio.org
The Ohio Arts Council
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Their vision is to provide leadership and voice for the arts to transform people and communities.
The Columbus Foundation
The Columbus Foundation mission is to assist donors and others in strengthening and improving our community for the benefit of all its residents. They promise to help you help others through the most effective philanthropy possible.
ADAMH
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Their vision is to provide leadership and voice for the arts to transform people and communities.
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Greater Columbus Arts Council mission is to champion and elevate the arts and cultural expression of Greater Columbus. Their vision is to see the power of art realized, people engaged, and the city energized.
Harry C. Moores Foundation
The Harry C. Moores Foundaiton provides grants largely for rehabilitation of the handicapped, as well as for hospitals, higher education, cultural programs, and social service agencies concerned with the aged, child welfare, and the developmentally disabled.