“No, We Are Not Fully Accessible:” How ReelAbilities Keeps Evolving Access
At ReelAbilities, audiences do not need to request accessibility. It has always been part of the festival from the beginning. “And there is always something that can be improved,” says founder Isaac Zablocki. This mindset—that full accessibility is never complete—has helped transform the New York disability film festival. It has grown beyond an annual screening series: it is now a role model for accessibility and disability representation in film.
“A Little Bit of A Movement”
“We’re a little bit of a movement at this point,” says Zablocki. What began as a platform for underrepresented disability films has become a broader discourse on accessibility, representation, and disability. However, when Zablocki co-founded the festival with Anita Altman, he was unaware of an existing movement within the disability community. “Anita came from the world of disability organizations. I came from running film festivals. I felt that if I started a festival, it should focus on an underrepresented topic,” Zablocki says. At the time, he saw a simple gap: quality films about disability existed, but were rarely shown because people avoided the subject.
ReelAbilities began as a single New York-based film festival 18 years ago. It has grown into a thriving movement that has reached thousands of people annually through the New York festival, affiliate festivals across North America, and programs such as the Industry Summit, Reel Education, ReelAbilities at the Workplace, and ReelAbilities Stream—an accessible platform for disability film. “In 2024, we became ReelAbilities International,” Zablocki shares. Now an independent nonprofit, ReelAbilities is a leading advocate for changing cultural views of disability, primarily within film and media. Through year-round educational programs, workplace film screenings, and provocative discussions, ReelAbilities works to expand awareness and advance greater inclusion.
Access Beyond Compliance
ReelAbilities’ mission is clearest in its view of “accessibility.” Most people think of film festival accessibility as only ramps, or captions on a screen—like the text you can activate on most movies and shows today. “We like to think that the ADA requirements are really just a starting point and we try to go beyond that,” Zablocki shares. “We took the approach that everything should be accessible. This means Universal Design: you enter the same way, you access the space the same way. It’s always available—not by request; it is there for everyone,” Zablocki says.
And that has not been easy at all in the event’s early days. “When I think about year one, we showed all of our films with open captions and had audio descriptions for the films that were relating to the blind community or by request. Back then, creating audio descriptions was not commercially available. We had to train people to create our own audio description. This is something that has completely changed over the years.”
Today, ReelAbilities offers access options customized for individual needs. This year, new additions include audio description for all feature films via the All 4 Access app. Audiences can stream descriptions directly to their own devices, which removes reliance on venue technology that is often broken, unavailable, or missing. Live post-screening conversations are captioned in real time through the KODA app, with English-to-Spanish translation, all delivered to personal devices. All films are also available virtually, in sensory-friendly viewing modes developed for autistic and neurodivergent audiences. The festival also uses the Hear2There platform, giving real-time, location-based audio information to help users navigate indoor and outdoor spaces independently.
Beyond those new features, all films have open captions and audio description. All events offer ASL and live captioning. The website and ticketing are fully accessible. ReelAbilities provides materials in Braille and large print, sensory-friendly screenings, a mobility device charging station, accessible transportation valet services, and a financial access policy with no-questions-asked. And the list continues.
“People say we’re fully accessible, but we add more every year. There is always room to grow.”
Isaac Zablocki
“No, we are not fully accessible,” Zablocki says, laughing. Other festivals often claim they are, but for Zablocki, accessibility is not a finish line—it’s a constant work in progress. Small details can always be improved and may make all the difference to a disabled person. Zablocki recalls, “It took us until year five to notice that the soap in the women’s bathroom— and I say women’s bathroom so I don’t have to take any responsibility,” laughing, “was too high to reach. Now, every time we run the festival, we make sure the soap is accessible.”
Access Friction
There is a reason for so many access options. Disability is a wide spectrum. Sometimes, one person’s access can exclude another. This is called “access friction.” Finding a balance for everyone—disabled and non-disabled—is hard and time-consuming. “A lot of it is having the attitude of, ‘let’s see what we can do.’ How can we support you? How can we make your space more accessible?”
Setting Standards Beyond ReelAbilities
ReelAbilities has established new industry standards. Are other, non-disability-related festivals following this lead? Some try. “We work with many film festivals, both personally and through our programs. Everyone means well, but in practice, it’s hard,” Zablocki says. Sundance, he explains, has improved its accessibility over the years. But at first, it only captioned the films, not the conversations that follow, which are just as important. Without access to the discussion, the experience is incomplete. This year, Sundance also offered captions for post-film events. “I hope we can take some credit for repeating the message that accessibility is not just about the movie. It’s about making the entire experience accessible.”
Progress is slow. Disabled people know this. If you have ever used an electric lift up to a stage, you know those sixty seconds feel long. Still, just having a lift at some events is progress. In 2021, at the Oscars, when Jim LeBrecht’s “Crip Camp” was nominated, the stage had a ramp for the first time ever. “I see many festivals say yes to access. But when it is time to act, they try just one thing, maybe one feature, and it often fizzles out.”
Reframing Disability on Screen
While many think accessibility is ReelAbilities’ main challenge, the real challenge is getting people to attend. “Once they come, they’re converted. People have an amazing, incredible experience. But it’s always a battle to get them in,” Zablocki says. “It’s a hard sell.” People assume the films must be sad because they feature disability. Sadly, that’s a common stereotype among non-disabled people. Ironically, film is actually the best medium to break those stereotypes. “Our tagline is literally ‘reframing disability,’” Zablocki explains. “We show disability in a new light. The stories are told in first person, from a disability perspective. We include disability in authentic ways, not just on camera, but also behind the scenes.” Zablocki believes these movies genuinely change how viewers see disabled people.
A Line-Up Formed by the Moment
Films define cultural understanding, especially of minority groups. This is even more important in today’s global and political climate. This year’s line-up, the most topical in the festival’s 18-year history, includes a documentary narrated by Bob Odenkirk about America’s mental health crisis. There is also an investigation into Nazi Germany’s killing of disabled people. A Deaf Ukrainian man navigating the Russian invasion and a romantic comedy about autism, mental health, and reproductive autonomy are also featured.
Zablocki says disability is often the last issue included or considered, and the first to be cut, particularly these days. That is why ReelAbilities is taking the stage, using their films to metaphorically shout even louder than the last few decades that access, representation, and disability culture belong at the center, not the edge of society. Its impact is clear in both its own festival and the standards it has influenced for 18 years. Yet, for Zablocki, the real success of ReelAbilities lies beyond a single event. “The greatest measure is cultural change,” he says. “If these films play everywhere, the world will be better.”
Feature image: Marissa Bode on the red carpet in her wheelchair at the ReelAbilities Film Festival, being interviewed as a photographer looks on and takes a photo.
All Images: ReelAbilities Film Festival.
You can find a German version of this article on our collab partner’s site: Die Neue Norm.
