Greetings, all...

Just to clear up any possible confusion in advance - the on screen, real-time sign language interpretation that is a part of the 1/03 disTHIS! Film Series screening of THE REAL HELEN KELLER is presented in BRITISH Sign Language, not ASL.  This is because the program (or programme, as they prefer to spell it) was produced for British television.   Those relying on sign language interpretation to properly experience or enhance their viewing pleasure while watching the film may wish to proceed with caution.  Much like our differences in comedy or taste in professional athletics, ASL and BSL are very different languages culturally and otherwise.

The film -- while it is thoroughly described throughout and can be enjoyed much like a radio documentary if one is visually impaired, is not -- for some inexplicable reason, captioned.  Go figure.  I apologize for any inconvenience or inadvertent miscommunication.

We will have scripts of the program (double sided, black ink on white pages) available for those who'd like them at the screening.

The post film discussion with myself and Michael Miller, archivist for National Foundation of the Blind (NFB), promises to be quite lively and will be ASL interpreted.

Much appreciated.  Many thanks for your tremendous support - it means the world.

See you tomorrow!

Best,

Lawrence Carter-Long
Director of Advocacy, Disabilities Network of NYC
Founder/Curator/Janitor, The disTHIS! Film Series: disability through a whole new lens

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The Real Helen Keller (2000)
 
Director: Liz Crow
Producer: Ann Pugh
Running Time: 50 Minutes

Space is wheelchair accessible. Film features on screen real-time sign language interpretation and the post-screening discussion will be ASL interpreted.

COST: Free
When: Wednesday, January 3
Time:
6:30 to 9pm. 
Screening starts promptly at 7pm.
Where:
DCTV @ The Firehouse
3rd Floor Screening Room
87 Lafayette Street (between Walker & White),
2 blocks South of the Canal Street Subway Station
VIEW MAP

As the commonly understood story goes, Helen Keller, the legendary advocate for people with disabilities, was born in Alabama in 1880. At 19 months, Keller fell ill with 'acute congestion of the stomach and brain' possibly meningitis which left her deaf and blind. Five years later, her isolation ended when her teacher Annie Sullivan taught her the 'manual alphabet', tapping out letters on her hand. Keller eventually learned to read Braille, to write and even to speak. She gained admission to the prestigious Radcliffe College, where she wrote The Story of My Life. After graduating, Keller devoted her life to work on behalf of others who were blind and deaf.

That is the sanitized, and some would say, sanctioned telling of Keller's life. The real Helen Keller was much more complex: She was a suffragist, a pacifist, and a birth control supporter, a free-thinker who rejected her teachers' methods, and a political radical. Keller also wrote books inspired by Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg, introduced Akita dogs to the United States and was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Real Helen Keller, a documentary by disabled filmmakers Liz Crow and Ann Pugh chronicles these details and more. The film reveals the often hidden details of Keller's life and illuminates the life of a passionate woman who ranked on the FBI's wanted list for her political activism and radical views on feminism, race issues and civil rights.

This 50-minute biography made for the UK's Channel Four Real Lives series challenges Keller's widely misunderstood public image as the deaf-blind all American child who triumphed against nearly impossible odds - a fabrication later enshrined in the film, The Miracle Worker. Keller didn't choose this role and battled against her entire life. The documentary dares to go beyond comfortable mythology to reveal a deeper, more nuanced -- and often difficult -- individual.

Perhaps even more topical today than when it was produced given the continuing fight for civil liberties and war against dissent, The Real Helen Keller features fascinating material previously suppressed by the US authorities and the Keller family.

An audience discussion will follow the screening.

Screenings are free, but space is limited! Call 212.251.4092 to RSVP or email: Lawrence@...

The disTHIS! Film Series is made possible, in part, by generous support from the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

Lawrence Carter-Long
Founder/Curator/Janitor
The disTHIS! Film Series: disability through a whole new lens
Web: http://disthis.org
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/disthisfilmseries

The disTHIS! Film Series: disability through a whole new lens showcases quality narrative, short, documentary and feature films with disability themes beyond clichés.  No handkerchief necessary; no heroism required.  Think of us as disability without the diagnosis. The movies screened at the disTHIS! monthly series are funny, sexy and maybe even a little startling -- always provocative, never quite what you'd expect!