‘The more you know, the better you can do’: Disability Film Festival comes to Aspen’s Isis Theatre on Sunday | Kaya Williams Aspen Public Radio
October 7, 2024
The Disability Film Festival tour will stop at the Isis Theatre in Aspen on Sunday afternoon.
The local screening is organized by Cook Inclusive Company and Arc of the Central Mountains — both organizations focused on advocacy and services for people with disabilities.
Kaleb Cook, the executive director of Cook Inclusive, says the festival will cover a wide range of topics, “some sharing the hardships that come with caretaking, and some sharing the hardships that come with being a person with a disability and trying to find a job or trying to get married.”
Cook said that the disability community isn’t often represented in the media, and when they are, their experiences can be “misunderstood” and “stigmatized.”
But this festival, with so many different films, covers the fullness of those experiences as the community continues to fight for their civil rights. It puts the spotlight on topics like marriage equality, as people with disabilities risk losing their disability benefits if they marry.
Cook hopes viewers can leave better informed — with a feeling of hope and a desire to take action.
“The more you know, the better you can do,” Cook said. “And … through such a beautiful medium like film, we’re able to really showcase the importance of advocating for the disability community — and really showing their lived experience.
The Disability Film Festival kicks off at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Interpreters will be available for American Sign Language and Spanish. All of the films will have captions as well.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite.