Frustrated by the paucity of disabled representation on mainstream television?
The new streaming service Disability Media Network (DiMe) offers free content including movies, documentaries, sports coverage and short series that deal with disability-related themes and present the work of disabled filmmakers and actors.
According to its website, DiME’s content is “specially curated to ensure that disabled viewers see more authentic versions of themselves when they turn on the TV. …”
DiMe founder Jennifer Price told New Mobility that “the platform has two purposes—one from a viewer standpoint to allow people to see people who look like them, [and one] from a filmmaker standpoint to give another distribution outlet to their content.”
Price, a non-disabled disability rights attorney, launched DiMe in June 2021 on Roku TV. Since then, the service has grown and DiMe content can now be viewed on the DiMe website, Apple TV and Fire TV as well. Subscriptions are free. New content is available each month.
Sound interesting? Here’s a sampling of what’s available now.
1. “For Better, For Worse,” a short Australian film, tells the story of John and Lizzie, a couple with Down syndrome trying to convince their friend Reuben to be best man at their wedding. Why is he so resistant? Find out in this entertaining romantic comedy.
2. “Groundhog Night,” another Australian short, is written by and stars wheelchair user Emily Dash. In a piece for The Equity Magazine, she told writer Kate Hood that she “wanted to make a film that looked at the impact disability had on family dynamics, and showed that living with disability could be funny, as well as poignant.”
3. Set in 2040, the 2020 short film “Here Comes Frieda” is a science fiction thriller about a blind woman trying to redeem a lottery ticket that will allow her to leave climate-change ravaged Earth.
4. “Deafening Darkness” a short Canadian horror film made in 2017 tells the story of a deaf woman searching for her missing friend. In the process of her search, she meets a stranger with a disturbing history. This film includes a fully deaf cast and dialogue in sign language.
5. “To Pop a Wheelie,” a 2015 documentary written and directed by Teryl Warren follows three “adrenaline junkies” forced to feed their thrill-seeking addictions in new ways after they sustain life altering spinal cord injuries.
6. “Dancing Outside the Box” is a short documentary directed by David Block, a legally blind filmmaker. The film focuses on wheelchair user Ray Leight, who created a ballroom dancing curriculum that enables wheelchair users to dance with standing partners.
7. The documentary Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita chronicles the work of Dr. Jack Kessler, a stem cell biologist who decided to focus on using embryonic stem cells to find a cure for spinal cord disorders after his daughter Allison has a disabling ski accident.
