ReelAbilities

ReelAbilities is a film festival based in New York "dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities."

The third annual ReelAbilities festival opened in the Big Apple yesterday and includes films about Down's syndrome, brain damage, mental illness, blindness, manic depression, war injuries and autism.

Three films which caught our attention are:

Crooked Beauty which charts Jacks McNamara's journey from psych ward patient to mental health advocate.

Warrior Champions focusing on four wounded soldiers who set out to compete in the Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

And Wretches & Jabberers, which follows two men with autism as they travel to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland trying to change attitudes about disability and intelligence.

The full list of films can be found here and screenings take place between 3 and 8 February in various locations around the New York metropolitan area. They will be followed by discussions with filmmakers, special panels, concerts, dance performances and art exhibits.