Category: Actors with Disabilities

Twenty years after his death, a new documentary about actor and advocate Christopher Reeve is receiving high praise.

“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is “a moving, wrenching, compellingly well-made documentary about Reeve’s life that inevitably ends up centering on his accident and its aftermath,” says Owen Gleiberman, a film critic for Variety.

The film, which has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes uses archival footage and interviews with the actor’s friends, family and colleagues, to bring to life the story of a remarkable, yet deeply human man.

Reeve was born in New York City in 1952 to Barbara Pitney Lamb, a journalist, and Franklin D’Olier Reeve (1928–2013), a teacher, writer and scholar. His parents divorced when Reeve was 4 years old, and Reeve and his siblings moved with their mother to Princeton, N.J., where they grew up. Reeve had a difficult relationship with his father who was extremely hard on him, despite Reeve’s many successes.

Reeve attended Cornell University where he was a theater major for three years, but completed college at The Julliard School in New York City. It was there that he met life-long friend, comedian Robin Williams.

Reeve acted on Broadway, in several films and in television shows before being cast as Superman in the blockbuster film by the same name. The film made Reeve a superstar and he went on to act in three sequels to the original film. After achieving fame with the Superman franchise, Reeve continued to act in TV, film and theatrical productions.

In 1995, Reeve, who was by then married to singer/actress Dana Reeve and a father of three, was riding in a horse competition in Virginia, when his horse refused to jump over a fence. Reeve fell forward, became tangled in the horse’s reins, and landed on his head, breaking his first and second vertebrae. The life-altering accident left him paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe on his own. After surviving the accident, Reeve considered forfeiting life-saving measures, but he soon realized that his life was worth living.

After two years of intensive rehabilitation, Reeve returned home where he required 24/7 care. He struggled with depression, worried that he would be too much of a burden on his wife and children, but ultimately, became a disability activist who helped to change stereotypes of disabled individuals. With his late wife Dana, Reeve founded The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which is “dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis.”

The foundation offers education and resources about paralysis and spinal cord injuries, support for individuals with spinal cord injuries and their families; and funding for nonprofits, research and treatments.

Two years after the accident, Reeve directed his first film, “In the Gloaming.” In 1998, he returned to acting in a TV remake of “Rear Window” and as a guest star on the TV series “Smallville.”  Reeve also authored two autobiographical books—“Still Me” was published in 1999 and “Nothing Is Impossible” was released in 2002. Reeve died from heart failure in 2004.

Super/Man is now playing in theatres and is expected to begin streaming on various streaming services on Nov. 1.

Earlier this year, blind author and illustrator Paul Castle was turned away from a Seattle restaurant when he entered the establishment with his guide dog. As Castle told CBS News, a restaurant employee didn’t believe he was blind since he appeared to be “making eye contact.” Therefore, the employee assumed that the guide dog was a fake.

Castle’s experience was one example of the misconceptions that many people have about blindness. “Blindness is a spectrum,” said Castle, who has retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that causes a gradual loss of sight.

According to blind journalist David W. Wannop who writes for the Lighthouse, the idea that most people who are blind are completely blind is a misconception.

“Actually, the definition of legal blindness covers a range of conditions,” says Wannop. “Some have tunnel vision, others peripheral. Some can read large print. Others have focusing difficulties. Most blind people are not completely without sight.”

There are many other misconceptions about blindness. For example, the belief that blind people are not capable of living independently is simply false.

According to the Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, “People who are blind can do almost anything. They just do it differently. Not only can people who are blind live independently, they can raise a family, have a meaningful career, play sports, travel and more. Vision-loss rehabilitation and other training teaches skills and strategies so a person who has lost vision can live the life they want to. Eye2Eye [the university’s free, phone-based, peer support program, designed to assist adults who are blind or visually impaired and their families] exists to provide the emotional support that rehabilitative services often do not include.”

Likewise, some assume that blind people can’t use technology. Nothing could be further from the truth, says Rutgers. “Technology is a way of life for people who are blind. People who are blind use computers, mobile phones, apps and other tech to enhance their independence and make the world more accessible. Many people who are blind say technology has revolutionized their lives.”

Enabling Devices offers products designed to help children and adults with blindness in a variety of ways. These include:

• The Tactile Communicator Say It Play It (#4210) is a new product in our VI line. Press any of the four plates to play a pre-recorded message and simultaneously activate a toy or device.
• The Bright Switch for the Visually Impaired (#2045) has a bright blinking light that makes it easy for blind or visually impaired users to find. When activated, the switch’s textured yellow light shines, music plays and the switch vibrates.
• The Cheap Talk 6 for VI (#6056) is a popular six level communicator with six bright yellow and red switches outlined in black that make it easier for blind or visually impaired users to see and operate.
• The Tactile Symbol Communicator (#4040) is another communicator especially designed for blind or visually impaired individuals. This this six-level device has room for 36 six-second messages.

To discover more of Enabling Devices’ products for blind and visually impaired users, visit our website.

We always celebrate when the entertainment industry casts disabled actors as disabled characters. The latest example of authentic casting is the new feature film “Ezra,” which opened in movie theaters across the country on May 31. The film stars Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg and newcomer William A. Fitzgerald.

Based loosely on screenwriter Tony Siridakis’ personal experience of raising a son with autism, “Ezra” tells the story of Max (Bobby Cannavale) and Jenna (Rose Byrne), a separated couple struggling to parent their 11-year-old autistic son Ezra (William Fitzgerald). Like his character, William Fitzgerald lives with autism.

As the film opens, Ezra is experiencing severe behavioral challenges and his parents disagree on how to handle them. Jenna wants Ezra to transfer to a school for children with autism while Max wants him mainstreamed. Jenna wants Ezra to try medication while Max is vehemently opposed to drug therapy. In a misguided attempt to rescue his son from the treatment plans he opposes, Max takes Ezra on a cross-country trip without his mother’s permission.

From the film’s inception, screenwriter Tony Spiridakis and director Tony Goldwyn were determined to cast an autistic actor in the film’s title role. They auditioned 100 child actors before finding William, a first time actor from New Jersey. “You just know when you see it sometimes,” said Goldwyn in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment.

Spiridakis was inspired to write the screenplay for “Ezra” to show audiences how even well-meaning parents can make poor parenting decisions.

“I made so many mistakes as a father, I wanted to show warts and all — the mistakes of being a father of an autistic child because I held on tight, I loved my son, and my son showed me with his wonderful spirit a way out of it, and that was a beautiful thing,” Spiridakis told Variety. “So, I thought it would make a good movie to see a father be that wrong.”

Robert De Niro, who plays Max’s father, was drawn to the film because he also has a child on the spectrum.

“I had certain things about it that I thought should be addressed,” he told Variety. “Everybody is well-intentioned, coming from a real place,” De Niro says. “It was done with a lot of love and a lot of hard work.”

It was important to the filmmakers that the film’s portrayal of autism was authentic. While making the film, Goldwyn and Plank screened it for people in the disability community to obtain feedback and ensure its authenticity. The film’s end credits were created by students at Exceptional Minds, a Los Angeles-based program that teaches young adults the digital arts.

“We wanted to involve the autism community in the telling of this story,” Goldwyn said in the Yahoo interview. “One of our producers is autistic himself, and he was on set every day helping us. We had consultants, we had people on our crew who were neurodivergent and other actors in the cast who you wouldn’t necessarily be aware that they were neurodivergent, but they were.”

This film is rated R and is not for children.

Seen Netflix’s “All the Light We Cannot See” yet? If not, you’re in for a treat.

The limited series, based on Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by the same name, tells the story of Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a young, French girl who is blind and Werner Pfennig, a young German soldier forced to serve the Nazis. The story follows the two individuals and the unlikely but very fortunate intersection of their lives during the final days of World War II.

The series, which is beautiful to watch—and emotionally wrenching— portrays the best and the worst aspects of human nature as it depicts the terrible consequences of war. It also introduces viewers to the extraordinary talent of newcomer Aria Mia Loberti who plays Marie-Laure.

Loberti, who has never acted before her role in “All the Light We Cannot See,” is legally blind due to the genetic condition called achromatopsia. After a global search for a blind or low-vision actor, Loberti, a Ph.D. student at Penn State, was selected from among thousands of auditioning actors to play Marie-Laure.

Netflix announced the casting decision in a press release that quoted the miniseries’ director and executive director Shawn Levy:  “We searched the world and reviewed thousands of auditions. We never thought our path would lead to someone who has not only never acted professionally, but never auditioned before. It was a jaw-drop moment when we first saw Aria Mia Loberti, who is both a natural performer and an advocate for disability equity and representation. I can’t wait to tell this beautiful story with her at the center.”

As Levy alludes to, Loberti, who shines alongside veteran actors Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie, has many talents beyond acting. According to the University of Rhode Island’s Rhody Today, Loberti, a URI graduate was “the first legally blind youth delegate” to the United Nations.

“At the same time, Loberti dabbled academically in everything. She triple-majored in philosophy, political science and communication studies, while minoring in rhetoric and Ancient Greek, and won a Fulbright to earn a master’s degree in ancient rhetoric at Royal Halloway University of London.

“An honors student, Loberti, who attended URI on a Centennial Scholarship and other endowments, carried 19 credits a semester and took classes over J-term, finishing with about 150 credits, well over the usual 120 of most graduates. This was all done while working full-time to meet her tuition and rent.” As a younger student, Loberti was home-schooled because her parents chose to protect her from discriminatory practices at her local public schools.

Since the series premiered in November, Loberti has been receiving rave reviews, including from her costars.

According to Netflix, Ruffalo said that he was a little jealous of Loberti’s talent. “It took me 30 years to be able to do what she showed up and did in two weeks. Aria has been a revelation. It’s been interesting to see how easily she’s integrated into it.” [Hugh] Laurie echoed that sentiment, describing Loberti as “furiously bright.”

Loberti recently walked the red carpet at the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles accompanied by her guide dog, Miss Ingrid. She’s the first person in the history of the Golden Globes to do so.

Next on tap for Loberti? A stint as one of L’Occitane’s skincare brand ambassadors. In a press release, L’Occitane’s founder Olivier Baussan said, “The moment I met Aria Mia Loberti, it was clear that there was a serendipitous meeting of the minds. The synergy of philosophy and beauty is what brought us together.”

In recent years, we’ve welcomed the growing popularity of autism friendly aka sensory friendly theatrical performances. But an upcoming Broadway musical puts people with autism on stage instead of in audiences.

“How to Dance in Ohio,” a new musical that stars seven actors with autism, starts previews at Broadway’s Beslasco Theatre on November 15, 2023 and opens on December 10, 2023.

The show tells the story of a group of young adults on the autism spectrum who are part of a Columbus, Ohio-based social skills therapy group. The group plans a spring dance designed to help them practice their interpersonal skills.

Based on a Peabody award-winning 2015 HBO documentary by filmmaker Alexandra Shiva, “How to Dance in Ohio” was adapted for the theater by composer Jacob Yanduro and writer and lyricist Rebekah Greer Melocik. The show is directed by Sammi Cannold and choreographed by Mayte Natalio.

Prior to its Broadway premiere this fall, “How to Dance in Ohio” was performed at Syracuse Stage in Syracuse, New York, in fall 2022. Reviews for the musical were stellar with The Syracuse Post-Standard calling the show “an exhilarating, groundbreaking, celebratory musical.”

The review went on to tell readers: “You’ll walk out of the theater wiping your eyes. You’ll pause in the lobby to catch your breath, clear your head, and see if anyone else is as giddy as you are. ‘How to Dance in Ohio’ is the musical you’ll talk about for the rest of your life.” Wow!

When it opens in New York, the principal actors from the Syracuse production — Desmond Edwards as Remy, Amelia Fei as Caroline, Madison Kopec as Marideth, Liam Pearce as Drew, Imani Russell as Mel, Conor Tague as Tommy, and Ashley Wool as Jessica — will all have their Broadway debuts.

As we’ve often reported on this blog, disability activists have long pushed for better representation of actors with disabilities in film, TV and theater. Too often, disabled actors are passed over for roles in favor of non-disabled actors even when the characters being portrayed have disabilities. “How to Dance in Ohio” is a welcome exception. In addition to hiring autistic actors, the production hired an accessibility team to ensure that the play portrayed people with autism authentically.

Before his death in 2019, legendary theater director and producer Hal Prince (“West Side Story,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Phantom of the Opera,” etc.) was involved in “How to Dance in Ohio’s” development. The show is dedicated to Prince’s memory.

According to Broadway World, tickets for “How to Dance in Ohio” will be available beginning in August.

Over Labor Day weekend, autism activists, reality TV devotees and just plain fans of the reality TV dating show, “Love on the Spectrum U.S.” were thrilled to learn that the Netflix program, which premiered in May 2022, was the recipient of not just one but three Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

“Love on the Spectrum U.S.,” which chronicles the dating experiences of young adults on the autism spectrum, won awards for outstanding unstructured reality program, outstanding picture editing for an unstructured reality program and outstanding casting for a reality program. The docuseries is based on the Australian show “Love on the Spectrum” which also aired on Netflix.

Happily, “Love on the Spectrum U.S.” isn’t the only US-produced television show or film to feature leading characters with disabilities in 2022. Check out these other viewing selections.

TV

1. “As We See It”
In this 2022 comedy series, actors Rick Glassman, Albert Rutecki and Sue Ann Pien play three neurodiverse young adults negotiating issues of young adulthood. All three actors identify as being on the autism spectrum while two other neurodiverse actors play characters who are neurotypical. The 8-episode series is available on Amazon Prime.

2. “Panic”
This 2022 series tales place in the sleepy town of Carp, Texas, where new high school graduates take part in “Panic,” a series of dangerous physical challenges in hopes of winning large sums of money. Disabled actor Madison Ferris plays Dayna, one of the series’ main characters. Ferris is known as the first wheelchair user to appear on Broadway. “Panic” can be seen on Amazon.

3. “Only Murders in the Building”
Starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, “Only Murders” is the story of three mismatched NYC neighbors who become involved in a quest to solve a murder mystery. Episode 7 features James Caverly playing Theo, the deaf son of deli owner Ted Dino (Nathan Lane) and there is Emmy buzz around his authentic portrayal.

4. “Thomas and Friends: All Engines Go”
“Thomas and Friends: All Engines Go” from Mattel Television isn’t new, but Bruno, a new tank engine who is autistic, sure is! Voiced by autistic actor Chuck Smith (age 10) the role was written by an autistic screenwriter and producers took care to ensure that Bruno is depicted in an authentic and positive way. Watch it on Netflix.

Film

1. “Cha Cha Real Smooth”
Cooper Raif stars in this dramedy about Andrew, a 22-year-old bar mitzvah party starter who befriends Domino (Dakota Johnson), the mother of an autistic girl named Lola. Vanessa Burghardt, who is autistic, plays Lola. The Sundance Festival film is streaming on Apple TV.

2. “Sharp Stick”
Another Sundance Festival feature, “Sharp Stick” tells the story of Sarah Jo, a young woman (Kristine Froseth) who cares for a child named Zach (Liam Michel Saux), who has Down syndrome.  Written and directed by Lena Dunham, this film is in theaters.

3. “CODA”
We’ve already written about “CODA”, this year’s Academy Award winner for best picture, best supporting actor and best adapted screenplay, but this film deserves another mention. Costarring deaf actors Marlee Matlin and Troy Dotsur as the deaf parents of a hearing daughter (Emilia Jones), if you haven’t seen it already, you should! Available on Apple TV.

4. “The Barbara Met Alan”
Based on a true story, this British film stars Ruth Madeley as Barbara Lisicky and Arthur Hughes as Alan Holdsworth, two disabled cabaret performers who fall in love and found DAN (Disabled People’s Direct Action Network), a disability activism group. The film is written by disabled screenwriters and includes 17 disabled cast members and 55 disabled supporting actors. See it on BBC Two.

In 1987, Marlee Matlin made history as the first deaf actress to win an Oscar for her performance in the 1986 film “Children of a Lesser God.”

Last week, Troy Kotsur, Matlin’s costar in the Academy Award-nominated film “CODA,” (an acronym meaning child of deaf adults) made history again as the first deaf actor ever nominated for an Academy Award. As a nominee in the best supporting actor category, Kotsur will compete against actors such as Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”), J.K. Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”) and “The Power of the Dog” duo of Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee. The awards ceremony will take place on March 27.

Written and directed by Sian Heder, “CODA” is a coming-of-age “dramedy” about a 17-year-old girl named Ruby (Emilia Annis I. Jones) who is the only hearing member of her family. Ruby wants to go to the Berklee School of Music to study voice, but she struggles with the decision because of concerns about leaving her deaf parents (Kotsur and Matlin) and deaf brother (deaf actor Daniel Durant) to fend for themselves in a mostly hearing world.

Based on the 2014 French film, “La Famille Bélier,” “CODA” is also nominated for Oscars in the best picture and best adapted screenplay categories. After its screening at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Apple outbid several other streaming services, paying $25 million—the highest amount ever paid at Sundance—for the film’s distribution rights.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kotsur, who studied theater at Gallaudet University, said that if he wins the award, “he plans to carry the trophy to the cemetery where his parents are buried,” because they always worried about their son’s career path.

“They really were nervous that I was working as a Deaf actor. They thought it wouldn’t even be possible,” Kotsur said.

Yet, even before Kotsur’s award-nominated role as Frank Rossi, a Gloucester, Mass. fisherman, husband and father, Kotsur had success as a Los Angeles and Broadway stage actor, held small TV roles and directed “No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie”(2013). Kotsur will also star in “Flash Before the Bang,” a soon-to-be released drama based on the true story of an all-deaf track and field team.

The actor, who is said to be “thrilled” by his nomination, is well aware of the significance of his nomination to members of the deaf community. As he told Deadline, an entertainment industry publication, “I just felt so touched that so many deaf people all over the community are so excited and they’re all celebrating. It’s so important for the group of people in our ensemble who just happen to also be deaf,” he said. “It tends to just be one deaf role in a film, like many of Marlee’s roles in the past, and so I hope that Hollywood is beginning to be more open-minded and gives more diverse artists an opportunity to tell their stories. The awareness of ASL and deaf culture is such a positive.”

UPDATE, FEB. 27, 2022:  Kotsur became the first Deaf actor to win an individual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for his supporting performance in “CODA”. Additionally, the movie won the award for performance by a cast in a motion picture. Congratulations!

UPDATE, MARCH 13, 2022: Kotsur picked up two more awards for best supporting actor, one from the Critics Choice Awards and the other from the British Academy of Film Awards. Stay tuned for the Oscar ceremony on March 27th.

UPDATE, MARCH 27, 2022: He won! And not only did Kotsur win the Oscar for his stellar performance, “CODA” won for Best Picture. Congratulations to Kotsur and the entire cast and crew of “CODA” for their achievement.

Last week, we learned that “Crip Camp,” a documentary produced by Higher Ground, a company established by former President Barak Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, was nominated for a 2021 Academy Award in the best documentary feature category.

The film tells the story of Camp Jened, a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities in New York’s Catskill Mountains, in operation from 1951-1977. Camp Jened was a magical place for the campers, many of whom felt they fit in with their peers for the first time in their lives. Later, some Camp Jened alumni including Judith Heumann, James LeBrecht, and Bobbi Linn became activists whose activism paved the way to passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.

The success of “Crip Camp” is a wonderful example of the ways in which people with disabilities and their accomplishments are finally becoming more visible in American society.

But “Crip Camp” isn’t the only example of the entertainment industry’s growing recognition that inclusion is just, valuable and even profitable.

For the past six years, the Ruderman Family Foundation has been a strong advocate for authentic portrayals of individuals with disabilities in the TV and movie industries. On Feb. 22, the foundation announced its picks for the annual Ruderman Seal of Authentic Representation awards.

The awards came about after the Foundation conducted a study in 2016 that revealed that 95% of characters on TV with disabilities were played by actors without disabilities. By drawing attention to this disparity, the Foundation helped to change the status quo. This was confirmed by a new Foundation study released in Feb. 2021 which found that today, “Twenty-two percent of all characters with disabilities on network television are portrayed authentically by an actor with the same disability. According to the new study, 20 percent of characters with disabilities are authentically casted on streaming services.”

This year’s Ruderman Seals of Authentic Representation awards went to five television programs “for their casting decisions which have contributed to the growing momentum on the inclusion and authentic representation of people with disabilities in the entertainment industry,” according to a press release from the foundation. The winners are:

 

• • NBC’s “Will and Grace” for the final season of the sit-com’s revival in which Christopher Thornton, an actor with paraplegia, played Luke, a character who uses a wheelchair
  • AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead,” a horror series in which Daryl “Chill” Mitchell, an actor who is paralyzed from the waist down, played Wendell, a character with paraplegia
  •  “Sex Education,” a U.K.-based comedy series which can be seen on Netflix, in which actor George Robinson, who has paraplegia, played Isaac Goodwin, a character who uses a wheelchair
  •  “Emmerdale,” a British soap opera created by ITV Studios which casted James Moore, who has ataxic cerebral palsy, as Ryan Stocks, a character who also has ataxic CP
  • “Call the Midwife,” a drama series from Neal Street Production and the BBC for casting Daniel Laurie, who has Down syndrome, as Reggie Jackson and Ellie Wallwork, who is blind, as Marion Irmsby. The series has also included other disabled characters who have been authentically casted.

While actors with disabilities remain underrepresented in television and film, the progress that has been made in the past four years is substantial. As Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation put it: “After witnessing significant progress on authentic casting decisions in Hollywood in recent years, we are particularly gratified to see the international momentum that has been generated in this high-priority area. With several British series joining American productions in our latest round of honorees, it is clearer than ever that the entertainment industry increasingly considers disability as an important part of diversity.”

Here at Enabling Devices, we’re always on the lookout for positive portrayals of disability in the media. Happily, such portrayals have become far more common in the past year. In fact, a new study by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media revealed “a historic high [8%] for leading characters with disabilities.” Additionally, the study found that “characters with disabilities are more likely to be shown as hard-working; in management; in STEM careers; and as leaders!”

Here are some recommendations for films and TV shows that are breaking new ground.

1. “Run,” a new thriller on Hulu, marks the debut of 22-year-old actor Kiera Allen, a wheelchair user portraying a wheelchair user, something that until quite recently, was virtually unheard of. According to the New York Times, “the movie upends typical narratives about disabled people.” In a Nov. 20, 2020, interview, Allen told the Times, “it feels like it’s going to be the first time a lot of people in my generation ever see a real wheelchair user onscreen playing a wheelchair user. That’s a huge honor.”

2. “This Close” on Sundance Now stars deaf actors Shoshannah Stern and Josh Feldman, who also wrote and created the series. The series is about the friendship between Kate (played by Stern) and Michael (played by Feldman), best friends who are hearing impaired. As reviewer Jen Chaney writes for Vulture, “the fact that the two protagonists are deaf is both the whole point and completely beside it at the same time.” In other words, while the characters’ deafness is part of who they are, it’s not all they are. The show is also about two young adults navigating love, work and friendship—concerns they share with most people their age.

3. “Christmas Ever After,” a new holiday movie streaming on Lifetime network, stars Tony Award-winning actor and wheelchair user Ali Stroker. Stroker plays Izzie Simmons, a young woman who happens to use a wheelchair, coping with writer’s block and romantic trouble.

4. “Carol of the Bells,” another holiday movie, stars RJ Mitte, an actor with cerebral palsy, best known for his portrayal of Walter Flynn White (Walter White’s son) in “Breaking Bad.” Mitte plays Scott, a young man who was adopted as an infant and is haunted by questions about the past. Scott searches for and finds his biological mother and is stunned to learn that she has Down syndrome. Scott’s mother is played by Andrea Fay Friedman, an actor with Down syndrome known for her work in “Life Goes On” and other TV shows. “Carol of the Bells” is also remarkable for being the first feature film in which 70% of the crew had developmental disabilities.

5. “Special” stars Ryan O’Connell in a semi-autobiographical series about his life as a gay man with cerebral palsy. Though each episode is just 15 minutes long, “Special” tackles “timeless issues with equal parts compassion and wit,” writes Caroline Framke for Variety. No wonder “Special” won four Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Short Form Series. The show, which premiered in 2019, will be back for another season in 2021.