Join us for a screening of the 2015 Emmy-nominated film "When I Walk" on Sunday, September 13. The screening will be followed by a talk/Q&A with Director Jason DaSilva and Producer Alice Cook.
Event proceeds benefit AXS Lab, a film/new media not for profit (501c3) dedicated to telling the stories of the disability experience.
Jason DaSilva was 25 years old and a rising independent filmmaker when a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis changed everything — and inspired him to make another film. When I Walk is a candid and brave chronicle of one young man’s struggle to adapt to the harsh realities of M.S. while holding on to his personal and creative life. With his body growing weaker, DaSilva’s spirits, and his film, get a boost from his mother’s tough love and the support of Alice Cook, who becomes his wife and filmmaking partner. The result is a life-affirming documentary filled with unexpected moments of joy and humor.
(scroll to the bottom for a transcript of the trailer)
Jason DaSilva has been a prolific filmmaker for the past 10 years, directing four short films (Olivia's Puzzle, A Song for Daniel, Twins of Mankala and First Steps) and two feature-length documentaries (Lest We Forget and When I Walk). Many of his films have won awards;Olivia's Puzzle premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and qualified for an Academy Award®. Three of his films have been broadcast nationally on PBS, HBO and CBC. He also produced Shocking and Awful, a film installation on the movement against the war in Iraq, exhibited at the 2006 Whitney Biennial.
In 2006 DaSilva took a short break from filmmaking to earn his master's degree in applied media arts from Emily Carr University. He produced and directed an Op-Doc (opinion documentary) for The New York Times entitled The Long Wait, published in January 2013. He and Alice Cook live and work in New York City.
Alice Cook is a documentary filmmaker and producer living in New York City. When I Walk is her first production. She also produced and directed the New York Times Op-Doc The Long Wait, published in January 2013. She produced the digital media project AXS Map, which was funded by charitable giving from Google and other organizations. Cook received her bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering and science from Stanford University.
Alice Elliott is an Academy Award nominated documentary director of The Collector of Bedford Street, and a 2012 Guggenheim Fellow. Alice's second film, in a trilogy, is the PBS Award winning documentary, Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy. Alice enjoys creating and distributing films that ask us to look at our perceptions of ability. She recently completed Accommodation, three short films about accessibility on college campuses, and directed and wrote a web series of short videos for self-advocates, ACTIVATE HERE! She was a directing advisor on Jason Dasilva’s webpilot Dismantled.
Her other passion is communities in transition. Miracle on 42nd Street, a documentary she is directing about affordable housing for artists is nearing completion.        Â
Through her social media presence she tweets regularly about housing and disability.Â
She is a teacher at New York University and recipient of a 2013 National Endowment for the Arts Grant. Currently she is developing an app on the history of disability rights and looking at empathy and disability through VR.
People of all abilities and from all communities are welcome and invited to attend.
Snacks and refreshments will be available courtesy of Skinny Pop Popcorn, KIND Snacks, RUNA Tea, Tiger Beer, and more.
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible.
Sign language interpretation by Sara Ahn, The Healing Movement.
Live captioning facilitated by CCACaptioning.org and CaptionMatch (website link provided at event).
Diversability is a social enterprise that fosters community online and off to connect, showcase, and empower people of all abilities doing amazing things. We want to get more people talking and thinking about disability as a core part of the diversity conversation.
For more information, visit MYDIVERSABILITY.COM
[Images of film clapperboards]
Jason: As a kid, I discovered filmmaking. [Jason on the red carpet] This was me, 5 years ago... making documentary films, traveling the world... [shots of the brain] and then I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
[Jason with mom]
Jason's mom: When you feel down, think of other countries, other people.
[Shots of India]
Jason: I get a film grant and take off for India. Maybe I can find something here to make me better, but I'm getting worse so fast, I feel like my time is running out.
[Fade to black, Sundance and HotDocs honors, closeup shot of Jason]
Jason: I can't believe that this has happened so fast.
[Jason with mom]
Jason's mom: Quit your film right now, how does that feel? Just quit.
Jason: I'm not going to quit the film.
[shot of Jason on the street]
Jason: To help me gain perspective, my mom takes me to an MS support group. There was this girl there. Her name was Alice, and I got her phone number. I decided to give Alice a call. I may be walking slower, but inside, I'm racing.
[shot of Alice, Jason eating]
Jason: That was really, really fun.
[shot of Alice]
Alice: I sent an email to my dad, and I said, "Can you date someone with MS?" and my dad said, "Yes, I'm dating someone with MS right now."
[shot of Jason and Alice]
Jason: Do you ever wish that you were with somebody who was able-bodied?
Alice: Yeah, but I wish you were able-bodied.
[shots of Jason and Alice working, closeup of Alice]
Alice: He's like this incredible person. It's not right.
[shot of Alice and Jason's grandmother]
Jason's grandmother: She didn't cure him, but she gave him another miracle.
Jason: What's that?
Jason's grandmother: Alice.
[closeup of Alice]
Jason: How is it that you're so magical?
[shots of Jason, Jason and Alice in front of a screen]
Jason: It's hard to know where our stories are going as they're being written. That's the mystery of fate.