On a quest to lose their virginity, three young men with disabilities embark on a wild road trip. Their
families think they are on a wine tour in Spain, but this is a cover for their true destination—a Spanish brothel that caters to people with disabilities.

Dir. Geoffrey Enthoven
(Belgium, 2011, 115 min)

Followed by the Opening Night Gala.

Paralyzed by polio as a child, Jerome Felder reinvented himself first as a blues singer, renaming himself Doc Pomus, and then as one of American popular music’s greatest songwriters, writing “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “A Teenager in Love,” and “Viva Las Vegas.” AKA DOC POMUS brings to life Doc’s joyous, romantic, heartbreaking, and extraordinarily eventful journey.

Dir. Peter Miller and Will Hechter
(Canada /USA, 2012, 98 min)

Followed by a closing night party.

Join the festival team, guests and filmmakers for a VIP cocktail reception before the screening of Come As You Are.

On a quest to lose their virginity, three young men with disabilities embark on a wild road trip. Their
families think they are on a wine tour in Spain, but this is a cover for their true destination—a Spanish brothel that caters to people with disabilities.

Dir. Geoffrey Enthoven
(Belgium, 2011, 115 min)

Followed by an Opening Night gala reception.

An interactive “autism friendly” concert featuring a performance by the Grammy-nominated Enso String Quartet. Open to individuals with autism and their families. Advance registration required (Free). Visit musicforautism.org for information and registration.

Join special guests and filmmakers as we honor and discuss the work of outstanding directors of films about people with disabilities over a Shabbat dinner and conversation led by Lawrence Carter Long. We will honor Ben Lewin, director of this year’s award winning hit The Sessions. Alice Elliot, director of The Collector of Bedford Street, will reflect on her work and the subject of her film,  Larry Selman, who recently passed away.  Director Joanna Rudnick and founder of Positive Exposure Rick Guidotti will join us in conversation and share excerpts from their documentary in progress, On Beauty (produced by Kartemquin Films).

The evening is co-presented with FEGS and Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts.

Registration required by March 4th.

Image from: The Sessions

For Families with Children on the Autism Spectrum.

Explore the techniques and materials seen in the art on view in the museum. Hands on art making projects are facilitated by museum educators and designed for families with children on the Autism Spectrum. For further information & registration, call 212.423.3788.

Photographs by Rick Guidotti

Rick Guidotti, an award-winning fashion photographer, founded Positive Exposure, a nonprofit organization, that utilizes photography and video to transform public perceptions of people living with genetic, physical and behavioral differences—from albinism to autism. On view is a wide selection of Guidotti’s work from around the world as well as portraits he has taken of JCC members who have participated in The Pearls Project, a groundbreaking educational tool developed by Positive Exposure. For more information on Guidotti’s work please visit: positiveexposure.org

Heidi Latsky Dance updates her work with integrated casts with Somewhere, dance set to a surprising array of versions of Over The Rainbow. This series of movement portraits takes the audience through a celebratory journey of the human spirit. After this informal performance, the company will engage with the audience in a talkback.

A musical survival guide for life’s catastrophes. The winner of the Audience Award at the United Solo Festival nYC 2012 charts “tools for survival” in 16 moving & witty songs by Anita Hollander, who has appeared at the new York Shakespeare Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theatre, and The White House. Ms. Hollander lost her leg to cancer 30 years ago, before she did all of the above. The New York Times has called her “provocative, funny, moving, communicative and beautifully polished [with] a wide rainbow of vocal colors that she uses with dramatic sensitivity as well as comic insights… plus a charming presence that flavors everything she does.”