RespectAbility’s Entertainment Lab for Disability Professionals is undergoing major changes in its sixth year.
The program, which ran for six weeks each summer when the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and transitioned from in-person to virtual, has now expanded to five months. There is. This change will allow Lab Fellows more time between sessions to process their learning, implement it in practice, and work on their own projects before the next monthly lab workshop. Become. As Lauren Appelbaum, RespectAbility's senior vice president of communications, entertainment and news media, explains, the institute's part-time structure allows people with certain types of disabilities, such as traumatic brain injuries, to It is said to be easier to access.
“We first established this lab to help studios, producers, and independent filmmakers who want to hire writers, directors, etc. with disabilities but say they can’t find them or don’t know about them. This was as a solution to a common reaction from people. Anyone,” Appelbaum said in a statement, adding that the lab currently has about 200 graduates.
“As a 2020 graduate of the Institute, I am excited about the changes for the 2024 class, which are a response to the changing climate of the entertainment industry and feedback from our rapidly growing alumni community.” RespectAbility said Senior Associate of Entertainment Pipeline Programming at. Leslie Hennen, who manages the lab's day-to-day operations, said in a statement. “This year, we have the opportunity to welcome more than 50 creators with disabilities to Pipeline’s programs.”
In addition to the Virtual Lab Cohort, RespectAbility is also launching six new in-person mini-intensive courses this summer focused on specific areas of entertainment. Participants will be announced at a later date.
Amazon MGM Studios, Coverfly, Final Draft, the Golden Globe Foundation, the Harnisch Foundation, the Murray/Reese Foundation, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Discovery are among the Institute's supporters.
The 2024 virtual cohort, who will stay together for five months, will be based in London as well as cities across the US, and will range in age from their 20s to their 60s, with physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health, and more. Includes people with health conditions. hindrance:
Benjamin A. Friedman, screenwriter/director
Cecilia Weiss, producer
Chris Guerrero, Director
Cori B. Sila, television writer
Colin Murphy, television writer
Dalila Ali Raja, television writer
Dani Hanks, television writer
Derek Quick, film writer
Emma Leyden, film writer
Faith Alabi, Screenwriter/Director
Gail Añonuevo, post-production
Genevieve McDevitt, film writer
Howard Emanuel, television writer
Jacqueline Revere, television writer
Jennifer Berry, screenwriter/director
Johnny Bowers, television writer
Julia Lahrenkotter, television writer
Maddie Ullman, television writer
Nancy Pickett, Director
Nandi Bowe, Screenwriter/Director
Saleem Nasir Gondal, Director
Sophie Sagan-Guterz, film writer
Stephen Nolley, screenwriter/director
Toj Mora, Post Production
Tyler St. Pierre, Producer