AbilityFEST2017 India International Disability Film Festival
AbilityFEST2017 India International Disability Film Festival came to a close on Thursday 14 September 2017 after giving Chennai a four -day feast of cinema from across the globe. Organised by Ability Foundation, a cross disability NGO, this year’s edition of the festival included short films, documentaries and feature films by, with and about disability, from as many as 16 countries.
Our feature films included the acclaimed films from Iran ‘A time to Love’ and ‘ The Sea and the Flying Fish’; the thought provoking ‘The Quiet Ones’ from U.K; the lighthearted ‘Close to You’ and the tender and powerful ‘At Eye Level’ from Germany; the sensitive and moving ‘A Normal Life’ from U.S.A.
The three presentations from India were the inspiring documentaries ‘Two Feet to Fly’, ‘The Deep Rising’ and ‘Scribbling’.
The documentaries and short films this year were equally impactful. Our inaugural film, the inspiring and heartwarming film ‘My Hero Brother’ (Israel) was one such. The powerful ‘Dan and Margot’ (Canada), the thought - provoking ‘Two Worlds’ (Poland) , the inspiring ‘Life beneath the skin of town’ (Iran), and '4 quarters of silence’(USA) were also well received.
The charming and endearing short films ‘The Present’(Germany), Wrestless(UK), ‘Building a world for all’(Australia) and Stutter (USA) were well received, especially by the hundreds of school children who attended each screening.
A major highlight of AbilityFEST2017 was the first public screening with audio description for the blind of the Tamil blockbuster film ‘Vikram Vedha’. It was an exciting and emotional roller-coaster ride for everyone present – from the over 100 blind people in the hall, the film’s producer Shashikanth and the directors Pushkar and Gayatri to the team from Radio Mirchi and Qube that executed the audio description and everyone else present.
AbilityFEST 2017 was made possible thanks to CavinKare Pvt Ltd, Sathyabama University and AVT. Our partners were Qube (Technical partner), SPI cinemas (Venue partner), Blue Dart (Logistics partner), The Park (Hospitality partner) and Kesar (Gift partner). We were supported by The Hindu Metroplus, The New Indian Express, Galatta, Culture House of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mumbai, Goethe Institut Chennai and e-Parampara.
