Canadian Actors Produce New Video Promoting Workplace Accessibility
The Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) today launch their new “Inclusion in the Arts & Media of People with Disabilities” (I AM PWD) disability rights video.
“Canada’s professional performers are thrilled to be united with our U.S. sisters and brothers on this vitally important diversity initiative. We hope that producing and launching this video online will kick-start more conversation about diversity on screens of all sizes,” said ACTRA’s National President Ferne Downey.
“There are a multitude of stories yet to be told from our industry’s rich and diverse backgrounds,’ said AEA President Nick Wyman. “People with Disabilities are the largest minority in the United States and Canada, and they have an enormous contribution to make to our lives and to our understanding of the human condition. Through the I AM PWD Campaign, we are working to lower the barriers to those contributions.”
“Entertainment and news media have a responsibility to entertain and inform audiences, and to accurately reflect our society’s diversity,” said AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon. “We are pleased to be moving forward with our tri-union global I AM PWD campaign to raise awareness and encourage equal employment for the persons with disabilities who work in our industries. We are delighted that our Canadian sisters and brothers at ACTRA are contributing this excellent new video initiative to the campaign.”
Screen Actors Guild National President Ken Howard said, “Our I AM PWD campaign has helped us shine a light on the challenges many performers with disabilities face in our industry. From getting auditions to being cast, there are significant barriers. Our partnership with ACTRA and this wonderful PSA they have produced, are helping us build momentum on behalf of performers with disabilities and an even more representative on-screen depiction of our diverse society.”
The I AM PWD campaign is a human rights initiative to increase the visibility and equal employment opportunities for entertainment workers with disabilities. At the June 2010 FIA Executive Meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, ACTRA was the first international co-sponsor to join this campaign. The following resolution was approved: “Unions affiliated with FIA are urged to bargain to ensure that performers with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations without the fear of losing their jobs; to free people with disabilities from real and virtual discrimination; and to allow people with disabilities to compete equally for job opportunities without facing bias or exclusionary practices.”
About I AM PWD
I AM PWD is a global civil rights campaign seeking equal employment opportunities for artists and professionals with disabilities throughout the entertainment and news media. Founded in 2008 by the Actors Equity Association (AEA), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG), I AM PWD is dedicated to ending the discrimination and exclusion of performers and broadcasters with disabilities. I AM PWD is uniting labor, industry, community and governmental allies in the fight to combat continuing discrimination against people with disabilities. IAMPWD.org.
Pamela Greenwalt, SAG, (323) 549-6872, Contact Pamela via email Christopher de Haan, AFTRA, (323) 634-8203, Contact Christopher via email David Lotz, AEA, (212) 869-8530, Contact David via email Carol Taverner, ACTRA, (416) 644-1519, Contact Carol via email
“Ǝvolution” Comes Full Circle At The Chelsea Film Festival
The Chelsea Film Festival, running from October 16th through October 20th, 2024, at Regal Cinemas here in Union Square, is set to host the East Coast premiere of Ǝvolution, a thought-provoking experimental micro-short film that proves big ideas can come in small packages and in perfect circles.
In just 1 minute 16 seconds, this cinematic gem by Award-Winning Director Romina Schwedler, with original music by Argentine Composer Ignacio Montoya Carlotto, explores a cycle as old as time: life leads to progress, progress leads to destruction, and destruction, well, leads back to life. But is this vicious circle unbreakable? Ǝvolution suggests the answer is yes, unless we decide to open our eyes.
Inspired by the overwhelming number of recent events that threaten human existence, Ǝvolution, possibly the shortest film in this 12th edition of the festival, plays out entirely through the symbolism of circles, cleverly illustrating —in the blink of an eye— the repeating patterns of history, and confronting viewers with the uncomfortable truth that our so-called “progress” may, in fact, be guiding us to our own ruin.Premiering at the Regal 14 Union Square, New York City, on October 18, 2024, at 11 a.m., Romina Schwedler's micro-short, featuring Leah Young with cinematography by Alan J. Carmona, will be sure to spark conversations longer than the film itself! Forcing viewers to reconsider the true meaning of evolution, not just as a biological process, but as a reflection of our collective journey as humans.
With a string of festival appearances across the globe, including CineGlobe at CERN (Switzerland/France), Oscar®... Read More