From the New York Times:

Internationally acclaimed fiber artist Judith Scott had Down syndrome and spent most of her life in an institution. (An example of her work is at left.)

A documentary about Scott’s life is among the films that will be featured in “Realabilities,” a New York film festival dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of diverse human experiences. The festival is presented by the Jewish Community Center of Manhattan.

“We want to enlighten people that they don’t have to be afraid when somebody who’s got cerebral palsy walks into their building or comes in with a wheelchair,” said an organizer.

(New York Times photo)

From the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:

‘Autism: The Musical’ has been nominated for Emmys in five categories: Outstanding nonfiction special; outstanding directing for nonfiction programming; outstanding cinematography for nonfiction programming; outstanding picture editing for nonfiction programming; and outstanding sound editing for nonfiction programming (single or multi-camera).

Earlier posts here, here and here.

From the New York Times, a review by Andy Webster of “Heavy Load,” a documentary about a British garage-punk band that is composed mainly of people with learning disabilities. The film doesn’t specify the nature of the disabilities, Webster says, but one band member has Down syndrome.

Depicted in the film is the band’s Stay up Late Campaign, which encourages people with disabilities to challenge the curfew system so they can choose the lives they want to be living.

An opening intertitle announces “A film about happiness.” Oh, please. It’s about struggle, the efforts of an ensemble wrestling with artistic obstacles as well as biological ones. It’s also a portrait of British band life: playing in smoky pubs and studios and at outdoor concerts and hustling tracks to a music publisher. And it is a portrait of a nation with social services and a public so compassionate it makes our own look heartless.

Other reviews:

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On ABC Good Morning America, video of an extended interview with Dan Habib, director/producer of ‘Including Samuel.’ The recently released documentary chronicles his son’s journey through elementary school in New Hampshire. Habib explains the philosophy behind the decision to include Samuel in general education classes (he has cerebral palsy), and shares footage of him interacting successfully with classmates.

Interviewer Marysol Castro poses some skeptical questions, which Habib handles with ease.

An excerpt:

Habib: … Disability is part of diversity, just like ethnic diversity and racial diversity. You create a society where that’s accepted as the real world. And kids need to understand this is the real world. Kids with disabilities and adults with disabilities will be living and working alongside them.

… [We want people] to see disability part as an enrichment of our culture — not something we that need to fix. For a while, we always focused on ‘we need to fix Daniel’. Now we realize we just need to accept him as our son, for who he is, and his disability is just part of who he is.

Earlier posts here.

Writing on Business Week’s Working Parents blog, Anne Newman features Dan Habib’s documentary Including Samuel. Newman is an old friend of Habib’s and also has a child with disabilities who is being fully included at school. She says inclusion has helped her child advance, but acknowledges that there are still many more difficulties to be resolved, like behavior problems and bridging the social gaps between students. Is disability a civil rights issue, she asks?

An excerpt of dialogue from the film’s preview (above):

Betsy McNamara, Samuel’s mother: Now that I’m so close to a person with a disability, I can’t believe that I was so blind to what people with disabilities in our community, in our counry, in the world, deal with every day. There was this huge civil rights issue, this huge amount of prejudice going on, and I never noticed it before.

Joe Petner, principal of the school Samuel attends: I see the work of inclusion as probably the last frontier of desegregation. If you read the brief from Brown vs. The Board of Ed (landmark U.S. desegregation case in 1954), the board of education argued that if we let blacks be integrated, that the next thing you know is that we’ll be letting people with disabilities be integrated.

Teacher in an inclusive classroom: I have cried many times about this year. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want another year like this year.

Earlier post: Including Samuel: An intimate view of full inclusion

It’s on HBO tonight, 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times, 7 Central.

Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times:

… the story of a group of autistic children puttin’ on a show blows open not only the definition of “normal” but its relevance. You will watch the final credits struck to the heart by the incalculable and invaluable variations of human experience.

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By Joanne Ostrow, Denver Post film critic:

The format is as old as show business: Hey, kids, let’s put on a show. Watch behind- the-scenes drama and the tedium and hard work of rehearsals as a theatrical production takes shape.

This time, however, let’s do it with children who can’t stand still or make eye contact.

“Autism: The Musical,” a moving and uplifting documentary that’s as surprising as its title, chronicles the making of that show.

The wonderfully inspiring film premieres at 6 p.m. Tuesday (Mountain Time) on HBO, having already won a slew of film festival awards. Record it. Find it on demand. Rent it or borrow it.

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