Hollywood Inclusion

While more than 20% of adults in the U.S. live with a mental health condition, a new study has found that mental health conditions continue to be rare in popular films. This study, the third of a series since 2016, was conducted by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Just 2.1% of characters in the top 100 films in 2022 experience a mental health condition including addiction (28 characters), anxiety/PTSD (24), mood disorder (21), suicide (14), significant disturbance in thinking (8), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (2). Some characters presented with more than one mental health condition. This representation shows little growth since 2019 (1.5%) and 2016 (1.7%).

“Our work has demonstrated that change has occurred in entertainment across a variety of indicators,” Associate Professor of Communications Stacy L. Smith said. “Yet when it comes to mental health conditions– which are reported by a significant portion of the population– there has been no improvement over time. Entertainment can play a role in shaping perceptions of mental health conditions, but the absence of these portrayals communicates that mental health conditions are invisible as are those who live with them. This must change.” [continue reading…]

Dances With Films (DWF:LA), now in its 26th year, champions the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. Always prioritizing important storytelling above all else, this year’s theme of “Peace, Love, & Celluloid” is a nod to some of its powerful programming that promotes healing, highlights social justice, and celebrates inclusivity and diversity.

Several films that premiered at DWF:LA explicitly focused on elements of disability throughout. This included narrative films such as Heightened, with a focus on anxiety and OCD, and My Home Unknown, with a focus on schizophrenia; as well as documentaries Abled: The Blake Leeper Story, with a focus on an amputee Paralympian, Baldy for the Blind, with a focus on blind climbers, and You Have No Idea, with a focus on an autistic individual. In addition, shorts For the Safety of Theo had a focus on an individual with OCD while The Tea Party focused on a teenage girl with ADHD.

Several additional films featured disabled cast members but the film’s focus was not on the disability. These included Daruma (featuring Tobias Forrest and John W. Lawson), Proof Sheet (featuring Eileen Grubba), and The Unseen (featuring Jennifer A. Goodman and RJ Mitte). Neurodiverse multihyphenate Jennifer A. Goodman wrote, starred in, and produced The Unseen.

Below, please find a guide to several of the films featuring disability in the plot or talent with disabilities. DWF:LA is taking place through July 2 at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. [continue reading…]

Fall down seven times, get up eight. On June 29th, 2023, the indie feature Daruma had its world premiere through Dances with Films Film Festival to a sold out crowd at the illustrious TCL Chinese Theatre.

Described by the filmmakers as a dark comedy, the story follows Patrick (a bitter wheelchair user played by Tobias Forrest) who must enlist the help of his cantankerous neighbor Robert (a double amputee veteran played by John W. Lawson) to transport the daughter he never knew he had (a precocious four-year-old played by Victoria Scott) to live with her maternal grandparents on the other side of the country. The film was the recipient of the Project ReFrame stamp of approval from Women in Film and even received the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant which is typically reserved for shorts, and it’s not hard to see why. [continue reading…]

A collective groan could be heard across the world throughout the pandemic. COVID disrupted everyone’s lives and intensified inequalities. Among those hit hardest by the disease are people with disabilities, who are more likely to live in poverty and, for some, on the streets.

Filmed at the height of the pandemic, Yaz Canli’s directorial debut My Home Unknown brings attention to this pressing social issue. The film follows the journey of Mina (Yaz Canli) living on the streets of Los Angeles and experiencing the downward spiral of a mental health crisis, namely schizophrenia. Mina must wrestle with the abusive voices in her mind, while contending with the harsh realities of her present and grief of her past, to find her way home. [continue reading…]

Fall into young Canadian filmmaker Arianna Goarley’s gutsy and gleeful creative cavern as she invokes the wonders of ADHD paired with the world’s most renowned Alice. Her film, The Tea Party, is an Alice in Wonderland-inspired narrative short that explores ADHD and how it manifests in a young person’s life.

The short takes place at the classic tea party scene. Things go awry for Alice when everyone shows up to the party early. This sets in motion a storm of ADHD laden panic, leaving Goarley’s rabbit hole girl to take on her needs as a disabled neurodiverse person while also playing host to the people in her life. [continue reading…]

In a world where mental health is often stigmatized and misunderstood, the writer and director of “Heightened,” Sara Friedman, takes viewers on a transformative journey. The film, which is part of the 2023 Dances with Films festival, dives into what it is like to live with anxiety and borderline obsessive-compulsive disorder. As we are introduced to Nora, also portrayed by Sara Friedman, we witness the challenges she faces and the pivotal moment that catapults her onto a path of self-discovery.

During a panic attack while taking her Bar exam, the true depth of Nora’s challenges become apparent. She begrudgingly returns to her childhood home in Maine where she confronts a series of mental health struggles that have shaped her life. Amidst the turmoil, she finds solace and hope in unexpected places. [continue reading…]

Abled is an inspirational film but it is not inspiration porn. This documentary, which is part of the 2023 Dances with Films festival, follows Paralympian Blake Leeper training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games while he is in a legal battle with the World Athletics on whether his prosthetic legs give him an advantage. He is a 400-meter runner who competed in both disabled and nondisabled spaces throughout college and into his professional career, until he ran 400-meters in under 45 seconds. Once he crossed the 45 seconds line, he was on par with any world class nondisabled runner, and World Athletics claimed that he was technologically doping. However, the organization did not need to prove that claim; instead, they shifted the burden of proof to Leeper; he had to prove that the prosthetics did not give him an advantage. He had to disprove ableist assumptions rather than the institution having to back up its ableist thinking. This documentary shows Leeper trying to prove that his advantage comes from hard work and dedication, not his equipment.

Inspiration Porn is one of the most common problematic portrayals of disability in media. It is using people with disabilities to inspire non-disabled people and creates a view that disabled people are less than. Disabled people face so many challenges in their everyday lives that doing anything that nondisabled people can do including everyday tasks is viewed as inspirational. Abled shows an interesting reversal. Leeper’s disability is seen as an advantage as soon as he is able to compete with the best nondisabled athletes in the world. Leeper discusses how this shift happens, “the message that they are sending is disabled human beings across the board are less than us. Because you are less than you should never be faster than me. If you are faster than its technological doping not training or hard work or effort.” While the conclusions are opposite, the core ableist thinking is the same. [continue reading…]

The indie short For the Safety of Theo had its world premiere at the world-famous TCL Chinese Theater as part of Dances with Films Festival, and it’s not hard to see why it was selected.

For the Safety of Theo follows a young man with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who must purge himself of the consequences of a casual hook-up from the night before in order to regain his sense of stability. It takes an unflinching look on his meticulous routine as well as what happens when someone disrupts it.  

The story is largely inspired by writer/director Christopher Macken’s own lived experience with OCD. Said Macken, “It’s a constant disappointment how OCD is portrayed in film and TV; Often stereotyped as ‘being organized’ or ‘keeping things tidy,’ when in fact, that barely scratches the surface. Most people don’t realize how painful living with OCD can be, not only for the person overrun by their compulsions, but for the people around them—specifically in their sexual and romantic relationships.” [continue reading…]

The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) took to the screens – both live in Arkansas and virtual on computers and TV sets throughout the country – for its ninth year. Chaired by Academy Award winner Geena Davis, BFF champions women and diverse voices.

According to festival programmers, “over 30% of the (competition) program is comprised of creators with disabilities” and “25% (of onscreen leads) represent talent with disabilities.” This is an increase from 2021, when eight percent of the directors, four percent of the writers, and four percent of the leads identified as having a disability.

Below please find a guide to several of the films featuring disability in the plot or talent with disabilities. A majority of BFF offerings are available virtually through Sunday, June 25. [continue reading…]