Lives Worth Living

We are so honored to announce that LIVES WORTH LIVING has been chosen as part of the American Film Showcase for 2013/14! This is a major cultural diplomacy initiative of the US Department of State. In partnership with the USC School of Cinematic Arts, film envoys are sent around the world to engage audiences and, most importantly, to listen. Please click on the link below to learn more about this innovative program — the films, the film envoys and experts, the countries that were visited last year and may indeed be visited again this year.

http://americanfilmshowcase.usc.edu

“Lives Worth Living” is both an historical documentary about the Disability Rights Movement and a biography about one man’s struggle to survive. This hour-long program targets a national audience of 54,000,000 people with disabilities, students at all levels, and eventually, with global outreach, more than 650,000,000 worldwide. Charismatic leaders of the movement narrate the story of a long, hard, and successful drive for civil rights – a drive that brought together a once fragmented population into a powerful coalition that created some of the most far reaching civil rights legislation in our nation’s history. The program’s content is essential, compelling, and relevant for everyone given that anyone at any time can become a member of the disabled community.

People with disabilities are one of the largest of any minority within our nation, and this program will be the first television history on the subject. It is a window into a world inhabited by people with an unwavering determination to live their lives like anyone else, and a passage into the past where millions of people lived without access to schools, apartment buildings, public transportation, etc. – a status quo today’s generation cannot imagine.

Fred Fay (1944-2011) survived a devastating spinal cord injury when he was only 16, and turned his misfortune into a movement for equality. With a small group of dedicated activists, he spearheaded the disability rights movement and changed the face of American society. In his honor, click on the play button below to listen to Fred talk about his life.