Invalid Corps Film (and me) in Documentary Magazine
James LeBrecht wrote an amazing article for Documentary Magazine that just came out yesterday. It’s called: A Place at the Table: Doc Filmmakers with Disabilities on Building Careers and Disproving Stereotypes (https://www.documentary.org/feature/place-table-doc-filmmakers-disabilities-building-careers-and-disproving-stereotypes).
It is a fantastic article and really talks about some of the barriers that filmmakers with disabilities face. He interviews several filmmakers and asks some very thoughtful questions. More than just an introduction to the idea of disabled filmmakers the article is also a call to action.
Over the years, we’ve seen the emergence of filmmakers from underrepresented communities, which has brought nuance and authenticity to documentary films. However, one community is still far behind. I’m talking about my community: the disabled community.
As well as Jim himself, we get to meet Jen Brea; Victor Pineda; Emmy winner, Jason DaSilva; and yours truly.
And yes, I’m going to excerpt something I said. 🙂 Mostly because this is a point that I think is so so important and while I haven’t talked about it much here, it is very important to me.
Day Al-Mohamed, who is blind, is making a documentary about the Civil War “Invalid Corp,” a little-known Union Army unit comprised of disabled men. “The biggest roadblock to building a career, especially now, I think, is the invisibility of disability,” she observes. “There is a lot of discussion about diversity in the industry; about women in film and women directors; about #OscarsSoWhite and the need for more LGBT representation. As a woman of color who is LGBT, I couldn’t agree more. However, disability has not been a part of this discussion—not anywhere. If we are willing to acknowledge that biases exist when it comes to hiring individuals working with those identities, it is not difficult to imagine how the societal prejudices around disability would impact the opportunities available for filmmakers with disabilities. People with disabilities are not seen as legitimate professionals within the industry.”
It is one of the reasons I am so proud that more than 90% of the people working on the Invalid Corps film have disabilities. We should have, as Jim puts it, a place at the table.
