Thu, Oct 8, 2026
- Sat, Oct 10, 2026
NAAB Auditorium
Film festival
$ 7
ReelAbilities authentically showcases disability experiences and talent both on screen and behind the camera through award-winning short and feature-length films. Each screening at Kean University includes disability-led discussions that foster community dialogue, challenge stereotypes and promote access — fulfilling ReelAbilities’s mission of reframing disability through powerful storytelling.
ReelAbilities Film Festival at Kean University runs from Thursday, October 8, to Saturday, October 10, with options to attend in person at Kean’s Union campus or stream virtually from home. A talkback will follow each session.
Please note: The auditorium will open about 30 minutes before the screening start times above. Please plan your arrival and departure times accordingly.
NAAB Auditorium is located at 1000 Morris Ave in Union, NJ 07083, at the corner of Morris Avenue and North Avenue, and it’s wheelchair accessible. Films will be presented with open captions. Films with audio description are available by request. We will provide AI-powered captioning of our live conversations via Koda.
The program will run approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Boys
Director: Olive Bilic
English | Australia
8 min | Narrative
Overwhelmed by the chaos of class, neurodiverse teenager Jacob seeks refuge in an empty locker room, only to find himself facing an unexpected confrontation.
Bad Survivor
Director: Alex Dvorak & Katie North
English, Spanish, Czech | USA
11 min | Narrative
When sarcastic teen Alex is “broken up with” by her oncologists who can’t wait to get rid of her, she’s ripped out of the chaotic hospital life she finds cozy and sent back home to her multicultural family. Despite trying to pick up where she left off one year ago, her overbearing immigrant parents, hypochondriac sister, and MIA best friend have all moved on.
Sūnna (Listen)
Director: Radha Mehta
English | United States
13 min | Narrative
SŪNNA is an intimate mother-daughter story of resilience and transformation. It is about grief, adaptation, and the enduring power of music and love, even when silence enters their world.
Once More, Like Rain Man
Director: Sue Ann Pien
English | USA
15 min | Narrative
Zoe, an autistic teen actor, sits through yet another audition where the adults behind the table label her “the autistic one,” joke that she “doesn’t look autistic,” and ask if she has an “autism super power” — you know, “like Rain Man.” Her dad Gerry, a struggling screenwriter trying to keep them both afloat, hustles her from room to room while she’s forced into role after role that reduces her to a checkbox.
Misfit
Director: Tristan Zerbib
French | France
14 min | Narrative
In a world where disability is the norm, a wheelchair basketball team, the national sport, is caught off guard. They’re forced to train with an able-bodied person.
The program will run approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Don’t Take This the Wrong Way
Director: Rachel Handler and Crystal Arnette
English | USA
6 min | Narrative
Beaten down by constant ableist microaggressions and a devastating breakup, Darcy begins to unravel. This thriller was created for the 2025 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge.
Disposable Humanity
Director: Cameron S. Mitchell
English | United States
1 hour 35 min | Documentary
The Mitchell family, made up of Disability Studies scholars and filmmakers, has researched the Nazi Aktion T4 program since the 1990s. Through conversations with memorial directors, disabled people, and relatives of T4 victims, they uncover the horrifying truth: that the Nazi Aktion T4 program was, in fact, the program where the Nazis trained killing staff and designed the apparatus of mass murder that led to the Holocaust. Disabled people were the first victims to be killed under the Third Reich, and in this investigative documentary, the Mitchells reveal how this history has been covered over and erased from international public memory.
The program will run approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Rearranged
Director: Liz Whitmere
English | Canada
13 min | Narrative
A feud between a hospice cleaner and a blind resident takes a turn when a mischievous act sparks something between them that neither could have expected.
Lone Wolves
Director: Ryan Cunningham
English | USA
1 hour 33 min | Narrative
When pragmatic Fran decides to have a baby on her own, she recruits Ben, the kind but unpredictable classmate she skipped prom with, for a highly organized DIY insemination weekend in Toledo. But her meticulous plan implodes when she discovers Ben is Autistic and coping with some serious mental health challenges. As obstacles pile up, the pair must improvise their way through a wild mix of awkward humor, heartfelt confessions, and an unexpected connection. Lone Wolves is a sharp, laugh-filled romantic dramedy about friendship, fertility, and finding hope in the most imperfect moments.
The program will run approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.
We Are the Audience
Director: Eliza Brownlie
French | Canada
6 min | Documentary
People who stutter question how the world sees them and advocate for how they wish to be seen. Blending documentary intimacy with cinematic craft, this film offers a rare portrayal of a group of people who stutter as they together conceive a new future for dysfluent voices. The film is co-created in partnership with the stuttering community through doctoral participatory action research, and features a score by a composer who stutters.
Heavy Healing
Director: Eliza Brownlie
French | Canada
6 min | Documentary
Director: Howie Abrams
English | United States
1 hour 38 min | Documentary
Much like Rock ‘n’ Roll before it, heavy, aggressive music, including, but not limited to Heavy Metal, Punk, Hardcore and underground Hip-Hop, has gotten a bad rap since inception. Be that as it may, many who have been impacted by a wide variety of enervating conditions have come to rely on the output of heavy artists to successfully assist them through severe illness, weighty medical conditions, as well as debilitating mental health challenges.
The program will run approximately 2 hours.
White Nine
Director: Nilou Safinya
English | USA
30 min | Documentary
White Nine chronicles the independent living movement in Massachusetts through the story of three friends, Joe, Christos, and Charlie, whose lives were transformed by spinal cord injuries as teenagers. Their journey highlights the fight for independence, equality, and civil rights for people with disabilities. As the protections and promises of the ADA face growing challenges today, the film serves as both a tribute to hard-won progress and a call to continue defending disability rights.
Them That’s Not
Director: Mekhai Lee
English, American Sign Language | United States
19 min | Narrative
Them That’s Not follows Drea, a Deaf, queer poet who feels disconnected from her family while attending her grandmother’s repass. Seeking refuge from relatives who do not know ASL, she navigates grief and isolation until the arrival of her father, Samuel, who is temporarily released from prison to say goodbye to his mother. As the two confront their strained relationship, they are forced to find common ground before he returns to prison.
The How We Look Project (Appointment, Carnival, Court)
Director: Sofiya Cheyenne and Julie Forrest Wyman
English | United States
16 min | Narrative
The How We Look Project is a collection of three short films created and performed by Little People that explore dwarf culture, identity, and representation across different moments in history. Through stories centered on medical imaging, sideshow photography, and Renaissance portraiture, the films examine how people with dwarfism have been viewed, documented, and remembered. Together, they offer a thoughtful reflection on visibility, self-expression, and the power of shaping one’s own image and story.
The Blind Reggaetonera
Director: River Zhihui Zhang
English | USA
27 min | Documentary
The Blind Reggaetonera follows Precious Perez, a young blind woman pursuing her passion for music while advocating for disability rights and equal access to education. As she navigates dreams, relationships, and community impact, she dedicates herself to inspiring blind children to recognize their own potential. Through her story, the film explores identity, empowerment, and the belief that disability is not something to be fixed, but a valued part of who a person is.
Babka
Director: Serena Dykman
English | USA
17 min | Narrative
In the heart of Hasidic Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a newly blind Jewish Orthodox baker forms an unlikely friendship with a Queer Catholic Latino guide dog trainer, embarking on an eye-opening journey to overcome personal and cultural barriers in his quest to reopen his beloved bakery.
Espina
Director: Daniel Poler
Spanish | Panama, United States
1 hour 29 min | Narrative
Bitter after losing his job, Venezuelan expat, Jonathan, plans a holiday to Panama City before his spinal surgery. Paraplegic and unable to travel far on his own, he recruits a down-on-her-luck actress and a cynical playboy as makeshift aides for the journey from Mexico City. Lavishly funded by donations meant for his “surgery,” this unlikely trio ventures into Panama’s wild side, and it’s no longer clear if Jonathan chose his destination for diversion – or, to avenge a long-held grudge. This irreverent and vibrant film draws inspiration from the real-life experiences of Jonathan, who portrays himself in this tale of self-discovery.
The program will run approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.
The ReelAbilities at Kean University film festival and related programs are hosted by Kean Stage and supported by the Kean Office of Accessibility Services, as well as campus and community partners, including ReelAbilities New York.