For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Lisa Desatnik
513-984-5474/513-262-4062
Public Contact: www.CincyRA.org
Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival Announces Interfaith Breakfast
New for 2017, the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival organized by LADD, Inc., is inviting the community to a ReelAbilities Interfaith Breakfast, March 9 at 8 am at the Duke Energy Convention Center, connecting diverse leaders and members of the region’s Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Buddhist faith traditions to hear from inspiring speaker, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein, and unite in supporting a diverse and welcoming community, including people who have disabilities.
Held during the Film Festival, our region’s largest film festival with a unique purpose of bringing people together to celebrate difference, the Interfaith Breakfast will kick off ongoing support of inclusion programs in faith communities through the art of film. The Breakfast is sponsored by MARCC, The Amos Project, Catholic Archdiocese Office of Family Life, AJC Cincinnati, The Reverand Noel Julnes Dehner, and Christ Church Cathedral.
About Keynote Speaker Richard Bernstein
Disability Rights Attorney Richard Bernstein made history when he was sworn into office and became the nation’s first state Supreme Court Justice for the state of Michigan. Known for his warm and ebullient personality, has said it is the challenges he has faced as someone who was born blind that has helped fuel his passion for fairness and driven his legal career. He received his Juris Doctor from the Northwestern University School of Law before joining The Sam Bernstein Law Firm where he won several landmark, precedent setting cases while running the Public Services Division. In his spare time, Justice Bernstein is an endurance athlete who has finished 18 marathons and the Ironman Triathlon in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Among his many in 2006, he won CNN's "Keeping Them Honest" award for his legal work on behalf of wheelchair users in Detroit. He was also awarded the John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono Award from the State Bar of Michigan.
“Our Festival celebrates our city’s extraordinary national leadership in the area of inclusion. This initiative encourages Cincinnati’s faith communities to become role models of inclusion of people with disabilities, strengthening our entire city,” said Susan Brownknight, Executive Director of LADD.
To purchase tickets for the Interfaith Breakfast (and all ReelAbilities events), please visit www.CincyRA.org.
About the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival
March 9 to 12, 2017, the Duke Energy Convention Center will roll out the red carpet for a Hollywood-style film extravaganza complete with star-studded parties, workshops, special events, speakers and 60 films that showcase the stories, lives and art of people who experience disabilities. Attendees can have a root beer shot at the Cocktails and Zombie Party; learn how to act, model, tell a story, or create films on a smart phone; create personal art; meet celebrities; connect; and transform the way they perceive differences, the way they see, appreciate and welcome one another.
About LADD, Inc., organizer of the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival
Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled (LADD, Inc.) is a 41 year old Cincinnati-based nonprofit organization that is guided by the belief that every person has ability and value, and that there is great strength in diversity. LADD works to propel the inclusion and success of nearly 500 adults in Hamilton County who have developmental disabilities through housing and employment options, life skills training, and advocacy leadership.
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