Andrés Godoy is an unusual musician. At the age of 14, already an accomplished guitarist, he lost his right arm while working in his parents' mill. After years of depression, he reinvented himself by creating his own playing technique, and went on to become one of the world's leading guitarists.
Since a 100 foot fall in 2002 that took his right leg and left him with spinal injuries, Colorado climber Craig DeMartino has led one hell of a life, including lauded First Disabled and In-A-Day Ascents on El Capitan. But his day-to-day life story is the one that should be making headlines.
What has four legs, five arms and three heads? The Gimp Monkeys. Craig DeMartino lost his leg after a 100-foot climbing fall. Pete Davis with born without an arm. Bone cancer claimed Jarem Frye's left leg at the age of 14. While the three are linked by what they are missing, it is their shared passion for climbing that pushed them towards an improbable goal - the first all-disabled ascent of Yosemite's iconic El Capitan.
Recently moved with his family to the town of Bellavista, Nicholas faces the challenge of adapting to a new environment, a new school and some new mates ... with the added difficulty of being blind. There Nicholas attends the Guide Dog School, where he meets Tom, his trusty Labrador retriever, who accompanies him on his adventures. Gradually the gang at his school will set aside their prejudices and accept him as he is: a normal boy who sees life differently. An unforgettable story about integration, friendship and unconditional love.
In this film, two people and two worlds meet. Craig DeMartino, an adaptive climber from Boulder (Colorado) and Kai Lin, an industrial engineer from Brooklyn (New York) team up to design a game-changing prosthetic foot. This is easier said than done. Early prototypes don't hold up to the rigors of straight-in crack climbing, but this unlikely alliance is determined to test the power of problem-solving, so Craig and Lin keep at it.
A young couple with disabilities seek help to enhance their sexual relationship, and make a film about it. Their journey of obstacles reveal that the hardest hurdles are not physical.
For two years, five young adults affected by Cerebral Palsy (CP) have followed the crew of the sailboat Kifouine during their sail around the world through daily mail exchanges. Until they felt ready to break the moorings and take up the challenge to join the sailors. They spent two weeks on board of the Kifouine in Egypt. An exceptional experience that has, in many ways, changed their way to look at things, and the way they're being looked at...
Emmett Smith, a competitive runner and high school track coach at Cortez High School in Phoenix, Arizona, is left without a sense of balance after a brain tumor is removed. He is told that he will never run again, but undaunted, he sets and meets a goal of not only regaining the ability to run, but to run 20 consecutive miles before a year has elapsed. Wheelchair-bound Cindy Duncan's determination gets her admitted to Apollo High School in Glendale, Arizona after she demonstrates that she will not need special attention. Coach Smith (now at Apollo) challenges her to meet the goal of recovering from her injuries (from being hit by a car) to the extent of being able to walk to the podium at graduation to receive her diploma. He bets that she can do it, and will have to wheel himself in her wheelchair the entire three miles to Cortez H.S. if she succeeds.
An Accidental Life is a deeply personal and vulnerable portrait of Quinn Brett, an ambitious, record-setting climber who strives to make meaning out of tragedy in the years following a near-fatal rock climbing accident on El Capitan that left her paralyzed.
Muthu and his disabled sister live with their grandmother and uncle Suseelan. Muthu's life takes a turn when he falls in love with a woman and meets a mysterious man.
John Baker emerges as a fine runner while in High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and then continues setting records at the University of New Mexico. His ability is world-class, and after receiving his university degree he accepts a position as a coach and physical education teacher at Aspen Elementary School while continuing to train (with the 1972 Olympics in sight). He becomes very popular with parents and students alike, for seeking ways to involve all his students, even those with an apparent lack of ability. Learning that he has terminal cancer he contemplates suicide, but instead chooses to dedicate himself even more to the kids, helping even the handicapped to participate, and co-founding and coaching the Duke City Dashers, an all-girl AAU track team. He hopes his "last race"...already beating the odds by a year, will not end before seeing this team win the national title.
'Blues' is a portrait. Ernest Angermüller, a talented young mime artist who became a quadriplegic after a car accident, and Roza Misiewicz, a young Polish immigrant who works as a carer in France. 'Blues' is the story of their meeting, their memories and a fragmented picture of their desires and dreams as young adults in the making.
Majka "Chatterbox" is a girl entering adolescence. She was born with a minor disability. While her mother keeps scolding her for the way she walks, her classmates mock her and call her a "duck". Along an innocent first love affair and a secret friendship, she receives little understanding from her parents and lots of malice from her schoolmates. Majka finds refuge with her grandmother and in her own fantasy world. Director Peter Solan made a sensitive portrait of a twelve year-old schoolgirl. The eloquent film language talks to child and adult audiences alike.
A poor girl works in a general store with a blind boyfriend playing guitar. He becomes famous and she also becomes blind.
A short 1982 film that offers a thought-provoking look at stereotypes about physical handicaps as seen in the story of a teenager with cerebral palsy who decides to try out for cheerleader.
As they enter their teenage years, twin brothers Raphaël and Rémi see their fraternal relationship crumble as one of them, suffering from an increasingly marked disability, remains a prisoner of childhood. But for one last summer, as they contemplate nature, time seems to stop momentarily.