Film: ReelAbilities Cincinnati

Ali Stigler
CityBeat

ReelAbilities is the largest national film festival dedicated to sharing the lives of people with disabilities. And thanks to the work of local festival co-chairs Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled (LADD) and Visionaries + Voices, Cincinnati was the first city outside of New York to host the film festival. With an aim to promote “building a more inclusive and integrated community through education and understanding,” award-winning films prominently featuring characters with disabilities will take over screens for one week at various locations across Greater Cincinnati such as the Esquire Theatre, Kenwood Theatre and National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

After each screening, discussions and interactive programs will work to enhance the acceptance of diversity within the city and our lives in general. The film festival premieres with Shameless: The ART of Disability at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Freedom Center (50 E. Freedom Way, Downtown). The film is followed by dinner and a keynote from one of the film’s stars. $150 for the premiere and dinner; free-$10 for other screenings. Tickets benefit different local agencies aligned with the festival’s cause. Through March 16. cincyra.org .