FWD-Doc demands UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report include analysis of D/deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse talent in Hollywood
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, CA (March 30, 2022) – On behalf of FWD-Doc’s 500 filmmakers with disabilities and their allies, FWD-Doc responds to UCLA’s omission of disability in its “Hollywood Diversity Report 2022” released by UCLA’s Division of Social Sciences. FWD-Doc demands UCLA rehabilitate its report by including data on D/deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse talent in Hollywood.
Jim LeBrecht, co-founder of FWD-Doc and co-director of Crip Camp elucidates, “UCLA’s report that stands for promoting diversity is an egregious case of exclusion and perpetuates the misconception that people with disabilities do not exist in the entertainment industry. In light of CODA’s three Oscar wins at the recent 94th Academy Awards ceremony, this oversight reinforces FWD-Doc’s assertion that this report is incomplete and not comprehensive.” As UCLA’s report is designed to “explore relationships between diversity and the bottom line in the Hollywood entertainment industry,” it is critical that disability be included in UCLA’s analysis.
FWD-Doc demands a public statement that acknowledges UCLA’s oversight and the damage that it created and implores UCLA to commit to releasing a specific report on disabled representation in the film industry within six months. Additionally, FWD-Doc expects that the UCLA report on representation in Television (due in the Fall of 2022) does not repeat this harmful omission.
Globally there are 1.85 billion people with disabilities, holding $8 trillion dollars in disposable income (this jumps to $13 trillion if you include their families), making people with disabilities the third largest economic power in the world – above Japan, Germany, and the UK. Filmmakers with disabilities are key to unlocking these audiences.
As the UCLA report stated, “America’s increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse film content.” While there is a dearth of investment in projects featuring characters with disabilities and created by filmmakers with disabilities, it is apparent from recent Oscar-nominated and winning films (CODA, Audible, Crip Camp, Feeling Through, The Dress, and Sound of Metal), that audiences respond to these films. By including disability in its research, UCLA can help focus industry attention on disability and ensure more projects made by filmmakers with disabilities receive funding to reach audiences.
Disability is diversity.
Media Contact: Amanda Upson, hello@fwd-doc.org
About FWD-Doc: FWD-Doc (Filmmakers with Disabilities, www.fwd-doc.org) is a group of filmmakers with disabilities (FWDs) — and our active allies. FWD-Doc seeks to increase the visibility of, support for, and direct access to opportunities, networks, and employment for D/deaf, disabled, and neurodiverse filmmakers. We aim to foster greater inclusion of D/deafness, disability, and neurodiversity within the broader entertainment industry. FWD-Doc leadership includes: co-founders, Day Al-Mohamed, Lindsey Dryden, Jim LeBrecht, and Alysa Nahmias, and Interim Director, Amanda Upson.
For More Information
For more information about FWD-Doc, go to https://www.fwd-doc.org/.
To download FWD-Doc’s Toolkit for Inclusion and Accessibility: https://www.fwd-doc.org/toolkit.
To download FWD-Doc’s Engagement Pack with resources aimed at filmmakers, commissioners, funders, buyers,
decision-makers, business affairs, and exhibitors, and includes templates for use across the industry: https://www.fwd-doc.org/engagement-pack.
#FWDDoc #disabilityisdiversity #nothingaboutuswithoutus #omissioniserasure