ABSTRACT
The rise of the global movement for disability rights since the 1980s and the simultaneous emergence of enabling digital technologies for people with disabilities have created a modest but nonetheless transformative effect. The festival has shown outstanding films—almost all of them made on digital media—from all over the world dealing with topics such as brain injury, autism, mental illness and Down syndrome. The emerging literature on the impact of digital media for people with disabilities suggests that these new forms of digital access provide distinctive possibilities for virtual sociality and self-determined recognition, a fundamental aspect of person-hood. The digital video documentary, which, from the beginning, was an extension of the Habibs’ commitment to social change, is used by thousands of schools, parent organizations, nonprofit groups, universities and state agencies around the United States and internationally.
