Featuring Speakers:

• Judy Rebick, Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy, Ryerson University
• Catherine Frazee, Co-director Ryerson RBC Institute for Disability Studies Research and Education
• Dr. Akua Benjamin, Professor, Director, Ryerson School of Social Work  

Art, activism and disability are the starting point for what unfolds as a funny and intimate portrait of five surprising individuals. Director Bonnie Sherr Klein (Not a Love Story, and Speaking Our Peace) has been a pioneer of women’s cinema and an inspiration to a generation of filmmakers around the world. SHAMELESS: the ART of Disability marks Klein's return to a career interrupted by a catastrophic stroke in 1987. Always the activist, she now turns the lens on the world of disability culture, and ultimately, the transformative power of art.

Joining Klein are a group of artists with diverse (dis)abilities. Humourist David Roche is taking his one man show, The Church of 80% Sincerity, to New York ’s off-Broadway. Poet and scholar Catherine Frazee is navigating a jam-packed schedule of teaching and speaking engagements. Dancer, choreographer and impresario Geoff McMurchy is organizing KickstART, an international festival of disability art. Sculptor and writer Persimmon Blackbridge is creating mixed media portraits from “meaningful junk”.

The film tracks this motley gang of five while they create and then present multi-faceted self representations. As we get to know these remarkable people, the everyday complexities and hidden richness of life with a disability are exposed. Packed with raw energy SHAMELESS is a revelation: honest, vulnerable and filled with unexpected beauty.

For more info contact RyeACCESS :
access@rsuonline.ca (416)979-5255 ext. 4504