Accessible Arts / arts + disability NSW

To be launched on Saturday 6 June by Professor Ron McCallum AO, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Disability, the 56th Sydney Film Festival will feature a program of Accessible Cinema with a range of movies exploring disability in contemporary and thought provoking contexts.

The Accessible Cinema program includes:

A Good Man (Australia), a love story like no other, A Good Man follows the lives of Chris - the good man of the title - and Rachel, who suffered a massive stroke 14 years ago, which left her unable to walk or talk. Since then Chris has taken care of his wife and son. Director Safina Uberoi adeptly captures the humour, tenderness and tenacity that sustain this remarkable relationship.

This documentary is in the running to win the 2009 Foxtel Australian Documentary Prize. This could be the first film included in the Accessible Cinema strand to win this award.

Blind Loves (Slovak Republic), a film examining the ways in which people who are blind find love. Winner of the Cannes CICAE Award, Blind Loves mixes documentary and fiction to illustrate the challenges faced by people who are blind in finding love and happiness. Teenage Zuzana describes her dream guy, adding significantly, ‘I wonder what he'll say when he finds out I'm blind'. Miro and Monika are in love, but her parents disapprove not of his blindness but his Romany roots. Lehotsky, in his feature debut, has crafted a compassionate and spirited essay on the nature of love.

The Australian short film Screening with Water, about a young boy's struggle to accept his father's disability will also be screened at Blind Loves sessions.

The Horse Boy (USA), follows the journey of an America family to Mongolia to see if traditional healing can help their autistic son. Texan couple Rupert and Kristin struggle to cope with their autistic son, Rowan. The only time Rowan is calm is when he's on horseback. The Horse Boy follows Rupert and Kristin's journey to Mongolia, a land famed for its horses and shamans, to see if traditional healing can help.

The French short film My Little Brother from the Moon, about a little girl's attempts to understand her autisitc brother will also be screened at The Horse Boy sessions.

In keeping with its commitment to accessibility, all Sydney Film Festival screenings will be honouring the Companion Card and all venues are wheelchair accessible.