8th Annual Reelabilities Film Festival In Queens Kicks Off in Forest Hills

The Reelabilities Film Festival kicks off on March 13 and 14th in Forest Hills with screenings and discussions with filmmakers at the Central Queens Y. This unusual film festival Marina's Ocean 2features outstanding documentary and feature films by and about people with disabilities and their families. Directors for many of the films will be present to speak and answer questions at screenings. Films will be screened on Sunday, March 13 at 2 p.m. and Monday, March 14 at noon, at the Central Queens Y, at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills.

All films are open to the general public for free, but a voluntary donation of $8 is requested. Tickets and more information are available online at www.cqy.org/reel or at (718) 268-5011, ext. 151 or pkurtz@cqy.org.

 This year’s festival includes an international array of films. On Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m., the festival will showcase a powerful documentary about gifted young people with social difficulties or with cognitive or learning disabilities. This moving film follows the personal journeys of these students and features interviews with the students, their parents, teachers, and therapists. This feature length film will be followed by a discussion with director Thomas Ropelewsky, and will be accompanied by two short films about the additional difficulties for young people with disabilities who want to date.

On Monday, May 14, at noon, the festival will feature an afternoon of outstanding short films, both narrative and documentary, on disabilities and personal and family relationships. Many of the films treat the topic with humor. By engaging film lovers and audiences from all walks of life, the Reelablities Film Festival brings communities together to celebrate diversity and inclusion. The festival is part of a movement to bring awareness and appreciation to the experiences and stories of people living and thriving with disabilities – building on the cultural shift that puts complex images of people with disabilities into the foreground of film.

More information about the Reelabilities Film Festival is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org/reel or at (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org.  The Central Queens YM&YWHA is a non-profit community center offering recreational, educational, cultural and social events to enhance the quality of life in the Central Queens community. The Y is an agency of UJA- Federation.