CommUNITY Film Fest
MAUMEE – To showcase amateur films created by individuals with developmental disabilities, the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, FilmToledo and Maumee Valley Partners for Inclusion teamed up to present the 10th annual CommUNITY Film Fest on Sunday at the Maumee Indoor Theater.
The Film Fest is a competition among filmmakers to create short films that cover various topics, including challenging their life assumptions, promoting inclusion, educating the community about who they are, and how you can contribute to your community.
The 2-5-minute mini docs were the film fest finalists. Filmmakers expressed themselves in several different ways. Many of the entries highlighted a day-in-the-life of the filmmaker, while others created a slideshow of themselves or a video with music playing over the film. Other entries that stood out were a music video and an animated short film.
During intermission, guests were treated to a performance by members of the iDance Adaptive Performing Arts Center.
Lori Balogh, Community Inclusion and Employment manager for Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, explained that their organization supports from birth to death about 4,400 individuals with disabilities throughout Lucas County. It also provides quality-of-life services, such as improving independent living skills, giving to donation centers and helping people look for jobs.
The board begins to help filmmakers with their projects as early as January. If a filmmaker wants to do something simple, the Board of Developmental Disabilities can help. If it is complex, they will reach out to another organization that is part of the festival.
FilmToledo is the film commission that covers Toledo and Northwest Ohio. As a regional film commission, they have two main roles, to bring film productions to the region to help boost the economy in the film industry and to educate and train people to work in the film industry.
Michael DeSanto, executive director at FilmToledo, explained what his organization contributes to the festival.
“We connect the individuals who want to make films with professional filmmakers and give them the resources they need to fulfill what’s in their imagination,” he said.
Desanto also explained why he thinks it is important to help these individuals create the films for the festival.
“It’s showcasing the lives of people with disabilities, that they are just as motivated and dedicated to get into film. Some people just want to showcase what their regular everyday lives are, and removing that stigma and showcasing what people with disabilities are doing and can do.”
Barbara Robinson was one of the many attendees. She said she has worked with people with disabilities for 32 years, and explained what she thought people learned from the festival, that “everybody is their own person and you should appreciate everybody.”
The CommUNITY Film Fest ended with an award ceremony, with 17 finalists taking home awards.
