Films to Watch

For examples of world-class documentary cinema made by D/deaf and disabled talent we recommend:

Taken from a reflection off of glass doors, a person in his wheelchair is in the shadows against a large outdoor circus tent.

I Didn’t See You There (2022)

Directed by Reid Davenport

Produced by Keith Wilson, Executive Produced by Alysa Nahmias, and Edited by Todd Chandler

Spurred by the spectacle of a circus tent that goes up outside his apartment, a disabled filmmaker examines the history of disability and their invisibility in the public eye.

White woman with brown hair pulled back and round glasses. She is wearing a white fencing suit and holding a sword vertically. Blurred black, red and blue background.

ELSA (2022)

Directed by Cameron Mitchell

Produced by Julia Muniz

This short film is an extended look at some of the themes explored in American Masters - Becoming Helen Keller, and hopes to provide an updated representation of modern DeafBlind role models today. Elsa Sjunneson is a DeafBlind professor and media critic, skilled fencer and hiker, and published author who has written for Marvel Comics. She is a Hugo Award and Aurora Award winner.

A young Black man with a guitar over his right shoulder, the other hand on a wheelchair, which sits a white man. They are outdoors at a camp in 1970s. Text on top reads Crip Camp, A Disability Revolution,'

Crip Camp (2020)

Directed by Jim LeBrecht, Nicole Newnham. Produced by Sara Bolder, Jim LeBrecht, Nicole Newnham

A groundbreaking summer camp galvanizes a group of teens with disabilities to help build a movement, forging a new path toward greater equality.

A white mother, father, daughter and son all sitting on the open trunk of a blue pick up truck. Background of a boating dock with a blue sky and "CODA" in white at the top center.

CODA (2020)

Directed by Siân Heder

As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her passion at Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents.

Background of purple, red and green plants shaped as male and female genitalia. In the center top is an outline of a red highlighted wheelchair. Center reads "4 feet high. The series"

4 Feet High (2020)

Directed by María Belén Poncio & Rosario Perazolo Masjoan

Juana, a spunky 17-year-old in a wheelchair who’s eager to explore her sexuality. At her new high school, she will experience friendship and failure, fear and political agitation as she tries to find her way in the world and build a sense of herself.

A closeup of a person's face from the side, barely visible against orange, pink and white bokeh of lights in the background.

Vision Portraits (2019)

Director/Producer: Rodney Evans

An in-depth exploration of the creative paths of blind and visually impaired artists including a photographer, dancer, writer and filmmaker.

"Ill, Actually. Online you can be anyone, why be ill?" White woman with blonde hair in a black girdle looking at her phone while sitting on a tan couch. A black and grey wheelchair sits in front of the couch taking up half of the image.

Ill, Actually (2019)

Directed by Zoe Hunter Gordon

Three young people share the challenges of being chronically ill in a curated online world. When the internet allows you to be anyone, why be ill?

"A Sundance Now original series, This Close, Friendship means never having to say a word" A white man & woman leaning on each other while sitting. On each side are faded images of the same people further apart looking unhappy.

This Close (2018)

Created by Joshua Feldman & Shoshannah Stern

A dramedy about two Deaf best friends Kate and Michael living in Los Angeles. They are about to face new challenges - including a bad breakup, being tokenized at work and a troubling secret - all of which test their bond in surprising ways.

Small festival laurels on top of intentionally blurred text 'UNREST'. At the bottom right corner, a woman is lied down looking at the ceiling, many wired instruments are connected to her head.

Unrest (2017)

Directed by Jennifer Brea Produced by Jennifer Brea, Lindsey Dryden, Patricia E. Gillespie, Alysa Nahmias

Jennifer Brea is about to marry the love of her life when she’s struck down by a fever that leaves her bedridden. When doctors tell her “it’s all in her head,” she turns her camera on herself and her community as she looks for answers and fights for a cure.

White man with short brown hair & beard with glasses. Inside this faded image, the same man is outside in the woods holding his wife with a young boy running in the background. Image is over a pink background with "Notes on Blindness"

Notes on Blindness (2016)

Directed by Peter Middleton & James Spinner

In 1983, when writer John Hull goes blind just before the birth of his son, he starts making a diary on audio cassette to make sense of all the changes. Over three years John recorded over sixteen hours of material, a unique testimony of loss, rebirth and renewal, excavating the interior world of blindness.

Sundance and Hotdocs Film Festival laurels on top of text 'When I Walk a documentary film by Jason Da Silva.' Cut off in the background is the top of a New York skyline.

When I Walk (2013)

Directed by Jason Da Silva Produced by Jason Da Silva, Alice Cook

An emotional documentary filled with unexpected moments of humor and joy, this is a life-affirming film driven by a young man’s determination to survive—and to make sense of a devastating disease through the art of cinema.