Cities/YYZ

ReelAbilities Toronto Film Festival
Wed., May 19 – Mon., May 31
Virtual event / Pay what you can
reelabilities.org

ReelAbilities (RAFF) is hosting their sixth annual Toronto festival entirely online. The festival showcases important stories about Deaf and disability cultures by filmmakers and actors with disabilities and/or who are Deaf.

In addition to over 20 short and feature film screenings, the festival hosts a comedy night, educational presentations and workshops for grade school students. All films will screen with open captioning and all workshops and panels will include live captioning and ASL.

The festival’s feature documentary is, The Reason I Jump (82 minutes), based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida.

This documentary explores neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe that leads viewers to Higashida’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.

The Reason I Jump is paired with two short films by young Autistic directors. Post-screening, ReelAbilities will host a Young Autistic Voices panel and highlight the perspectives of nonspeaking Autistic youth.