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Superfest International Disability Film Festival

Superfest International Disability Film Festival
Superfest International Disability Film Festival logo
Founded1970
ProducersPaul K. Longmore Institute on Disability, LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
LanguagePrimarily English
Websitesuperfestfilm.org

Superfest International Disability Film Festival is a juried film festival held in the San Francisco Bay Area.[1] Superfest is the longest-running disability film festival in the world.[2] In addition to featuring films developed by and starring people with disabilities, Superfest aims to be inclusive.[3][4][5][6] The directors also coach the film makers about accessibility of films to people with disabilities.[1] During the film festival, the organizers provide sign language interpreters and film narrators to allow for the attendees with various disabilities to appreciate the films.[7] All of the judges for Superfest are people with disabilities from various community roles, including disability community organizers, disability studies scholars, and film aficionados.[4][5] Superfest closely follows the disability rights slogan: Nothing About Us Without Us.[1]

Stereotypes of disabilities are perpetuated through mainstream media and popular culture.[8][9] The aim of Superfest is to showcase films created by people with disabilities, illustrating real life experiences of disability and how universal the topic of disability can be.[4][5][1] Some film submissions are what the disability community refers to as inspiration porn.[10] These stories are generally regarding people with disabilities completing a great feat, in spite of their disabilities, and never approach the topic of discrimination of people with disabilities or the social standards to which people with disabilities are held.[1] Attendees express they can be authentic at Superfest and speak openly about their experiences.[10]

Superfest is held over a weekend and is considered more of a cultural event than a film festival.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Toffolo, Matthew. "Interview with Festival Coordinator Emily Smith Beitiks (Superfest: International Disability Film Festival)". Festival Reviews. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  2. ^ Aguilar, Rose; Flynn, Laura (October 19, 2016). "Your Call: Superfest, the world's longest running disability film festival". kalw.org/. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  3. ^ Farrell, Jonathan. "Op-Ed: Audio Describer donates her voice to help those with disabilities". Digital Journal. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Marvelous was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Kazakstan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Deveras, Reuben. "Comedic 'Superfest' discusses disability portrayal in film". Golden Gate Xpress. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  7. ^ Ghenis, Alex. "Superfest International Disability Film Festival Celebrates 30 Years". New Mobility: Life beyond wheels. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  8. ^ Hayes, Michael T.; Black, Rhonda S. (2003). "Troubling Signs: Disability, Hollywood Movies and the Construction of a Discourse of Pity". Disability Studies Quarterly. 23 (2): 114. doi:10.18061/dsq.v23i2.419. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  9. ^ Dahl, Marilyn (1993). "The Role of the Media in Promoting Images of Disability- Disability as Metaphor: The Evil Crip". Canadian Journal of Communication. 18 (1). doi:10.22230/cjc.1993v18n1a718. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Perceptions was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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