-In honor of National DisAbility Awareness Month (March)-
"It always angered me that people with disabilities never got good lighting, they never got good photography and they never got good cameras," Kent says. "So I just went out and bought an old Aeroflex — the same camera they used in Easy Rider. About 20 to 25 percent of our film is shot on 35mm film." –Jon Kent in an interview by Nashville Scene.
Embraceable – Trailer from Kent Creative on Vimeo.
Not only did my filmmaker friend attempt to raise the bar on an often marginalized segment of society–people with disAbilities–his 501 Cinema Productions film about Williams syndrome sold out in March last year with more than 300 viewers in its' world premiere at the 2011 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in Greece. The festival also selected the film for two special screenings–one touring Greek towns and the other during Special Olympics. Too, the film garnered a Silver Addy Award for the Embraceable trailer, above, via the National Advertising Federation. Learn more at embraceablemovie.com or Facebook.
Embraceable will also be at the Sprout Film Festival in New York next month, along with a photo exhibit by Kent. The filmmaker also sold television rights for the film in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Poland and the Netherlands. This year marks year 10 for Sprout, a festival of film and video related to the field of developmental disabilities. According to their mission statement: "People with developmental disabilities as subjects and performers remain marginalized in the media. The Sprout Film Festival aims to raise their profile by showcasing works of all genres featuring this population."
Williams syndrome is a rare genetic disorder affecting only one in about 10,000 people. Individuals with Williams syndrome are small in stature and have unusual gifts in language and music yet also have intellectual disabilities. In history, the legend of elves may have been based on people with the disorder who, in addition to their petite features are generally extraordinarily happy and extremely social. Scientists have also learned much about all of our brains by studying the disorder. They learned, for instance, that humans process math and language in different hemispheres of the brain based in part on the fact that people with Williams syndrome talk so fluently, with such impressive vocabularies that belie their intellectual disability, which is demonstrated in part with an inability to perform simple math. Fascinating.
Hats off to Kent for a beautiful, touching film. Always expect something stunning from Kent Creative.
The Arc Davidson County and The Arc Williamson County will be presenting a Sprout Film Festival on November 9, 2012. This film and others featuring people with I/DD are included in Sprout’s catalogue. In addition to the film festival, the event will also include artists and musicians, such as the ones featured in “Embraceable” from our local communities. Mark your calendars and watch The Arc DC’s website for more information!
Totally awesome and a dream come true. Wrote a proposal for a disAbility film festival a no. years back. No takers. And this committee phobe is happy to join this committee. And I will promote this on my blog! (Which means Twitter and FB, too.) For sure!
YOLO!!!!I have a bit of inspiration ciomng I would us this color on the floor! Strips in the middle of the room on white wooden floors. Almost like racing stripes speed/energy.It would be great in the Art/creation/Studio room for my kids. With wood exposed ceiling and some canvased walls with a tiny bit of orange/violet framed out. Energy delight! WhootAlso,I thought doing wide stripes with a pewter/silver tone paint in the open closet in my daughters room.Thank you!
I have recently cheangd my mind about pink. Having been a blue fanatical from a young age. But I now see the appeal in the soft creamy color of pink!! Id love to take a giant risk and use this around my island in my kitchen. The kitchen is a light beige already but I feel Like a bit of pink in the middle would really make the room liven up!
I’m planning to paint my ktcihen in the next few weeks and was struggling with picking a nice green. I started looking through the Fresh Home website for some ideas and found this wonderful pink! I have lots of white open shelves and white trim and I think this soft pink would be just perfect. Thanks for the great idea!!-J