Film still from On Beauty. Close-up of two young women smiling: Jayne Waithera, a Kenyan with albinism, and Sarah Kanney, from the US, with a large, red birthmark across her face.

ReelAbilities Portland Film Festival LogoDisability Pride Art and Culture Film Festival 2016

Portland ReelAbilities Film Festival

ReelAbilities, the nation’s largest film festival dedicated to sharing the stories of people with disabilities, makes its Portland debut from May 27 to 29, 2016, presented by the Disability Art and Culture Festival (DACP). Founded in 2007, ReelAbilities is hosted in cities across the nation including New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. This will be Portland’s first Disability Film Festival.

DACP’s goal is to have a high quality film festival that portrays people with disabilities without stereotype or overcoming medical narratives. We want to show both disabled and abled-bodied audiences that we are filmmakers, actors and actresses and that our lives are complex and our imaginations vast. Our films will emphasize an affirmative disability identity that values our contributions and artistry.

In addition to 25 award-winning films by and about people with disabilities, the festival will present a DIY filmmaking workshop May 16 and 18, a panel on disability representation in film and TV May 19 and Northwest/local films on May 29.

Call for Volunteers

Volunteers are needed to help with event setup and takedown, welcome our audience, and connect them with any accommodations needed for them to enjoy the festival.

We are also looking for a volunteer photographer!  You must have experience with photography in order to qualify for this position.  Photographer must be able to provide their own camera.

to email us, to sign up to volunteer.  If you are interested in the photographer position, please include a few images so we can see examples of your work.