Forest Hills Film Fest Examines Life With Disability

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS -- The largest film festival in the country to highlight the lives and art of people with disabilities happens right here in New York City, and a handful of this year's award-winning films are coming to Forest Hills.

The ReelAbilities Film Festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary in NYC from March 8-14. The Central Queens Y is among 30 citywide venues that will host screenings for the festival, which features documentary and feature films about people with disabilities and their families.

The Forest Hills community center at 67-09 108th St. will host its portion of the film festival on March 11 and 12. This year's films will touch on everything from mental illness to living with the rare neurological disease ALS, and even features an Israeli flick that narrates a teen's struggle with learning disabilities, said Peggy Kurtz, director of the center's cultural arts programs.

"By engaging film lovers and audiences from all walks of life, the RealAbilities Film Festival brings communities together to celebrate diversity and inclusion," Kurtz said.

The ReelAbilities Film Festival launched in NYC in 2007 to bring "awareness and appreciation to the experiences and stories of people living and thriving with disabilities." It has since expanded to 15 cities across the United States and in Canada, according to its website.

The Central Queens Y screenings will start at 10 a.m. on March 11 with a documentary titled, "Perfectly Normal for Me" that centers around a unique after-school dance program in Queens for children with physical and developmental challenges.

Next up is a series of short films tackling issues like mental illness, which starts at 1 p.m. and lasts through the afternoon.

Among the short flicks is the Academy Award-nominated "Heaven is a Traffic Jam On the 405," which depicts a 56-year-old artist's lifelong battle with extreme depression and anxiety that led her to extreme treatments like electric shock therapy and multiple stints in mental institutions.

The last of the short films switches gears switches gears to follow a school principal with ALS. In the mini-documentary, "Mr. Connolly has ALS," the principal shows viewers how to live life to the fullest, despite the obstacles he faces with the disease. Doses of humor break up what might otherwise be a grave topic.

"Many of these engaging films treat their topics with humor," Kurtz said.

The film festival wraps up on March 12 at noon with "Scaffolding," an Israeli flick that focuses on a young man's learning disabilities and his troubled relationship with his father. The film garnered a whopping eight nominations in the Israeli Film Academy Awards.

Directors of several films in this year's lineup will be at the screenings to answer questions, Kurtz said. She could not immediately be reached for comment to confirm which filmmakers those would be.

All films are free and open to the public, but donations are requested and viewers must reserve tickets online or by phone at 718-268-5011 ext. 151.

Lead photo via Google Maps.