Video collaboration-December 2019

On December 4th we shot more interview footage for the series “Students TALK” for Professor Mary Lynn Navarro of Kingsborough Community College. https://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/189108164086/video-interview https://cripvideoproductions.blogspot.com/2019/11/video-interview-and-presentations.html We got some great footage and got to go further into our onscreen discussion. I talked a bit more about “A Stroke Of Endurance” and “Only Those Who Limp Allowed”.  I was asked about disability and sports. I was also asked about how and why I hire disabled actors and how I feel about able bodied actors portraying disabled characters in media.  We discussed disability and relationships.  We have been meeting with Mary Lynn Navarro throughout December to discuss film editing, and how the collaboration between her own productions and Crip Video Productions will continue in 2020 and beyond.  

“Students TALK” has NOT been released yet, but we at Crip Video Productions will notify our fans when it is released. “Students TALK” is NOT owned by Crip Video Productions. It is a collaboration only. 

Super special thanks to Mary Lynn Navarro and her students. I have full legal permission from Mary Lynn Navarro to write this blog post. 

Crip Video Productions wishes our many fans a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Stay tuned to this blog and our website for exciting news and content from Crip Video Productions in 2020!!! 

Video interview and presentations-November 2019

On November 14th I(Margot) had the honor of being interviewed on camera by Professor Navarro of Kingsborough Community College and her wonderful journalism class for their video cast series called “students TALK” about my films and disability issues. We covered a wide range of topics like my mission as a filmmaker, disability representation in media, and college accessibility. I mostly talked about my film “Crips Not Creeps” because that film is Professor Navarro’s favorite. The students were very engaged and asked fantastic questions like whether I would like to see a disabled Disney Princess created in the future. I was thrilled thats many questions were asked. I was able to pass along some of the knowledge I gained of film editing and camera operation to Professor Navarro and her students as we went long. The interview has NOT been released yet!!! When this interview gets released we will let all of our Crip Video Productions fans know where and how to watch it.  

Super special thanks to “students TALK” and Professor Navarro for this wonderful opportunity to reach a wider audience! We have full legal permission from Professor Navarro to write this part of the blog post! 

I spoke to another class a few days after.  On November 19th, 2019 I was invited to speak to a class studying disorders and education. I showed the trailer for “Crips Not Creeps” and part of the blooper video for “A Stroke Of Endurance”. I told the class the meaning and backstory around the terms “Crip” “Super Crip” and “inspiration p#rn” as they relate to disability.  I told the class how a fan of “A Stroke Of Endurance” recently thought one of my disabled actors in that film, was able bodied because she did not understand that some actors with disabilities have invisible disabilities rather than outwardly obvious disabilities to explain the term “invisible disability”. One student asked if I took medication and/or supplements for Cerebral Palsy. One student asked if Cerebral Palsy was a progressive disease(it’s not). Another student asked how people with Cerebral Palsy who can walk, usually learn to walk as young children. 

We have full permission from the people involved with this presentation to write this part of the blog post! 

More shooting for "Students TALK" will take place soon. Stay tuned here for blog post updates about that series. 

In other news: We also received some very sweet, touching fan letters the other day about our film “Drama Sighted”! We at Crip Video Productions are so glad we are making such a positive impact. 

Our actress from "A Stroke Of Endurance" Katrina Hanzel is also  in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nNfee9QB3Y&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1r3TdkoXlE4mmTjI8ihFxcvYnVAGgP7zsy_uppc9V8_ktvFWXUwrpS6MM at 17:17 minutes in, showing off some awesome disabled action figures!! Check it out! Support her work!

World Stroke Day 2019

Today October 29th 2019 is World Stroke Day 2019. In appreciation of the stroke survivors who have inspired us such as one stroke survivor who allowed us to interview her personally to add to the authenticity of Professor Ben’s character, symptoms and recovery process, in our film  "A Stroke Of Endurance" and other survivors who supported our film “A Stroke Of Endurance” from the very beginning of its creation, and after like our wonderful new fans who are stroke survivors that let us into their worlds https://cripvideoproductions.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-stroke-of-endurance-featured-on.html Crip Video Productions would like to now be a part of World Stroke Day every year! 

We wrote a post for World Stroke Day 2018 here

https://cripvideoproductions.blogspot.com/2019/01/screening-and-world-stroke-day-2018.html 

Please read our previous post linked for a poem by a cast member of "A Stroke Of Endurance" for World Stroke Day and, reminders and encouragement for Stroke Survivors! 

To watch “A Stroke Of Endurance” for free with open captions and audio description, and share it with other stroke survivors and their loved ones for World Stroke Day see here http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php We hope "A Stroke Of Endurance" is a great resource for all stroke survivors and their loved ones for World Stroke Day today and everyday!

In other news we heard from a new fan who loved "Crips Not Creeps" and likened "Crips Not Creeps" to Martin Scorsese films because of the tracking city shots. We also heard from a fan who is a computer science teacher who was very impressed with all 4 films! We have a few more screenings planned for November 2019. 

Screenings October 2019

Possible Spoiler Alert for “Drama Sighted”! 

On October 17th 2019, I(Margot) privately screened our first film “Drama Sighted” to teach about education and accommodations for disabled students like we did in April 2019. https://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/184588551231/spring-2019-screenings  During the Q&A, we discussed Individual Education Programs(IEPs), bullying and Invisible Disability. One student commented that she noticed the main character named Brandon internalized anger from being bullied and became angry himself, and angry at himself when in reality, it was not Brandon’s fault. Another student commented that people with disabilities wanted to be “noticed” and not have their disability ignored, and guessed that Brandon had his Cerebral Palsy ignored in the past before meeting Lisa. One person noticed how the female students at the beginning of the film liked Brandon at first but then turned on him. They thought the girls, Tina and Maggie, turning on Brandon was a very realistic depiction of bullying. Some people were inspired to share about their own disability experiences with things like ADHD, diabetes, and injuries, and some students shared stories about meeting deaf and intellectually disabled people who they thought had not been disabled at all at initially. We got into the topic of sensory overload and speech impairment in some disabled students. We discussed safety for disabled students in emergency situations in school environments and how teachers should never attempt to diagnose students on their own. 

On October 23rd, myself(Margot) and 2 actors from our films “A Stroke Of Endurance” http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php  and “Only Those Who Limp Allowed” http://cripvideoproductions.com/limpallowed.php spoke to a class of students about the 2 films to teach about disability as it relates psychology and human behavior. I was thrilled that the instructor wanted perspectives from multiple people with all different disabilities. We discussed Cerebral Palsy, bullying, blindness, diabetes, education, and mental health. One student was a mother to a disabled child and asked about the differences between being born with a disability and acquiring a disability later. One woman was newly disabled and was so touched by our stories that she cried while sharing her own story. This student asked to be part of Crip Video Productions future work. 

Today(October 24) One actor from our film “Only Those Who Limp Allowed” and I(Margot) did another screening presentation today where we discussed, Invisible Disability, Cerebral Palsy, IEPs(Individual Education Plans) bullying, and physical therapy. We made it clear that disability is NOT worse than death, or a tragedy, and grieving a disability is NOT like grieving a death. One person asked how IEPs could be improved. One person asked how physical therapy can be improved. One person commented that they wished the presentation and Q&A had been recorded. We are thrilled to impact hearts and minds in a positive way.

Please use our website contact page to get in touch, if you want to use the Crip Video Productions films as a teaching tool. 

Super Special thanks to the Professor(s) and students for inviting us!!! We have full permission to write this post from everyone involved.    

International Fans and more

One of our cast members heard from a professor residing in the country of Ghana who loves our film “A Stroke Of Endurance”!  The professor teaches at a university in Ghana and felt emotionally connected to the film. We are so thrilled to hear from fans in all countries from around the world! As mentioned in previous posts, we have fans in India, The Netherlands, and Canada as well! 

In August we had a private screening with me(Margot Cole) and John Diodato presenting. "A Stroke Of Endurance" surpassed 2,000 views. We are planning more screenings for Fall 2019. 

Just this week I met another fan whose father survived 4 strokes and I heard the film "A Stroke Of Endurance" helped the parents of a 3 year old girl with Cerebral Palsy to understand CP better. 

May 20th 2019 screening and Tim Snoha

On May 20th 2019 I screened the film “A Stroke Of Endurance” http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php for 2 more college classes related to sociology. I introduced the film and told the class I wrote the film partly to spread the message that disabled people are NOT better off dead. 

The response was hugely positive during the 2 Q&As. It was a ton of fun! The students had great questions and comments as always about what CP was and the production process. One student told me they found the film inspiring. Another student asked me how we got permission to shoot the film at the location where it was shot. One student asked how the actor who played Professor Ben was able to re create the stroke so well. They loved the actor Tim Snoha, who played the character with the stroke!  “He’s just a darn good, super talented actor!!” I said. Then I explained how a woman with a stroke had been involved and gave input on Professor Ben’s character to make his movements and emotions more realistic, then the actors followed my instructions really well and brought some of their own disability experience into the performance. Yet another student asked if I was trying to change the conversation on disability. One student asked what Cerebral Palsy was and if Cerebral Palsy was painful. I explained it depended on the person with CP but arthritis was common. Then this person commented that they liked how one of Professor Ben’s biggest fears was losing the ability to work. After the screening a student told me they liked how truthful the film was. 

I was given full permission by the professor to make this blog post! Special thanks to the professor for inviting me and I hope to do it again!  

Again if you are a professor and/or teacher and want to use our films as a teaching tool please contact us via our website contact page. 

In other news the actor Tim Snoha who played Professor Ben in our film "A Stroke Of Endurance" got a role in another short film called "Highly Recommended" as a character who is murdered. Here's the trailer https://vimeo.com/309203630   If you are in NYC you can view "Highly Recommended" as part of a film festival on June 1st 2019. Time and address here https://www.nyshorts.net/copy-of-film-program-4  We are so proud of you Tim! Congratulations! PLEASE NOTE: "Highly Recommended" is NOT affiliated with Crip Video Productions. "Highly Recommended" is copyrighted to its original owners. 

Blog list and Spring 2019 screenings

This April 2019 our films have been used for educational purposes. Crip Video Productions has been screening the films and speaking to various different types of college classes in different locations to teach about disability, bullying prevention, Cerebral Palsy, and IEPs. We even received fan letters from some of these classes. Our actors attended a Q&A for one of these screenings of "Only Those Who Limp Allowed". Some of the audience had the misconception that Cerebral Palsy is genetic. Cerebral Palsy is not genetic. Other members of the audience were amazed and impressed by Professor Ben's openness about his stroke in "A Stroke Of Endurance".

If you want to use our films as a teaching tool please, please contact us via email.

Recently a fan messaged us digitally to let us know that our film "A Stroke Of Endurance" was the first time they had heard of the connection and similarities between Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. We are thrilled to raise awareness. May 2019 is "Stroke Awareness Month" in the United States. Please become aware of the symptoms and risk factors for stroke and try to support people who have had strokes. Please, please share our film "A Stroke Of Endurance" for Stroke Awareness Month here http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php 

A woman who shared our Tumblr blog on a list of blogs has re-shared that blog list here https://sarahkperkins.wordpress.com/2019/03/12/cerebral-palsy-blogs/ 

As you can see Google Plus is gone now so please use this blog as you would have used our old Google Plus page.

New blog tab on website

On February 23 2019 This, our “backup blog” has been added to the tabs on our official website here http://cripvideoproductions.com  under the  "blog" tab and the Tumblr blog now has its own new tab under "Tumblr". As we stated in our previous post, Crip Video Productions Google Plus is officially shutting down in April 2019 because Google Plus itself will no longer exist as of April 2019. The shutting down of the Crip Video Productions Google Plus was NOT the decision of Crip Video Productions. Any active links and relevant data from the Crip Video Productions Google Plus has already been saved and will be moved or has already been moved to this blogspot blog at the “blog” tab so please use the blog tab as on the website as you would have used the Crip Video Productions Google Plus page! 

We are now in the process of trying to plan film screenings for the Spring of 2019.

In other news our actress Emma Lemanski from our film "A Stroke Of Endurance" was featured in an article about a theatre program in NYC here 

https://www.nycommunitytrust.org/newsroom/theater-for-all-comes-to-life/ 

To see Emma Lemanski in "A Stroke Of Endurance" see here http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php  

Crip Video Productions Google plus page shutting down

First, Some more exciting Crip Video Productions news!

John Diodato, an actor who played a student in "A Stroke Of Endurance" who is blind in real life was featured in a news story about an ice hockey team for blind hockey players here https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2019/01/29/new-players-score-with-the-ny-metro-blind-hockey# Check it out! We are all so proud of you John!

To see John Diodato in "A Stroke Of Endurance" for free see here http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php 

As a reminder our director Margot Cole was also featured on "The Stromies" Stroke Survivor blog here in an article about "A Stroke Of
Endurance" https://www.stromies.com/blog/guest-blog-margot-of-stroke-of-endurance

A fan of Crip Video Productions Saim Sarwar is selling shirts again here https://www.bonfire.com/ss-drifter/ 5 shirts must be sold in order for the shirts to ship. Orders will ship in late February if successful. All profits go entirely to Saim Sarwar https://www.instagram.com/p/BsGNp_Blqrr/ NOT Crip Video Productions!

Most importantly. Please note: Our Crip Video Productions google plus page https://plus.google.com/103662816758572885430 is apparently going to be shut down in April 2019 because Google Plus will no longer exist as of April 2019. This is not the decision of Crip Video Productions. Google itself has decided to close all of Google Plus down entirely.  If anybody on this blog has been following us on google plus please be advised that we will be moving all of the data from the Google Plus page to the back up blog here https://cripvideoproductions.blogspot.com so please check there for updates and archival posts. Some google plus posts have already been archived like our Cerebral Palsy Awareness google plus posts, in our previous archived posts. This sort of situation is exactly why we made this back up blog in the first place. Anything new that would have been posted to the google plus will be posted here. 

If you experience any difficulty with the Crip Video Productions Tumblr page or any aspect of Crip Video Productions please contact us immediately at http://cripvideoproductions.com/contact.php or email at cripvideoproductions@yahoo.com or feel free to comment on this post. Also feel free to comment at any point on this blog if you like our work and want to tell us.

"A Stroke Of Endurance" upload anniversary archive

This is a special archived post from November 21 2018.

“A Stroke Of Endurance” upload anniversary

Please note! This blog post contains major spoilers for all 4 Crip Video Productions films. Please go to the “films” tab on our official website or simply scroll down to earlier posts to watch the films before reading this post!

Today is the anniversary of when “A Stroke Of Endurance” http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/167756665756/a-stroke-of-endurance-a-film-by-margot-cole-the  was uploaded. “A Stroke Of Endurance” has really come a long way in 1 year. As of this post “A Stroke Of Endurance” has 1,713 views and 13 likes on youtube(plus about 432 views and 5 likes on the open captioned version which is a separate video) In response to “A Stroke Of Endurance” many,many people asked me why I created Crip Video Productions. This writing is about my inspirations behind creating Crip Video Productions. 

Meeting my disabled friends and mentors inspired me in many ways. For the first time, I became interested in the lives of other people with disabilities. I originally wanted to write plays about my experience of being a disabled person. I heard about a playwriting contest in Bay Ridge Brooklyn called “A Playwright Grows in Brooklyn” when my mom took me to see one of their performances. Thomas Kane, the artistic director, suggested   that I write a play for the contest. I wasn’t even sure if I could write a play. My mom, who is also a playwright, promised to help me write the play. I decided to base the play called “Drama Sighted” on a little of myself plus other people I knew, creating a fictional story. I ended up winning the contest which was a huge surprise.  The prize for winning the contest was that BrooklynOne performed the 5 winning plays and the kids who wrote the plays would help direct the performance! I went to the little rehearsals of the winning plays every week before the performance. I quickly realized that directing was not easy. I had to teach an able bodied boy playing my Brandon character how to walk with crutches. My play was performed twice. I got my own “writer bio” in the playbill. That was very exciting. I felt like I was a real theater professional for the first time. As I watched my play both times on stage, I listened to see how the other people watching were reacting. Everyone,especially my mom, seemed to love it. One woman said my play was the best of the 5 plays being performed. During the second performance, a person I knew who also had CP came to see it. I didnʼt really think she would like it because she sees flaws in everything but she really enjoyed the play. All the winners were given these special award cerificates from the city council after the last performance with our names on them. The experience of winning the contest was a wonderful time in my life that I will always remember.

A few months after that another friend of mine with CP(who saw “Drama Sighted” performed as a play at BrooklynOne) told me to join a group called “DISLABELEDtv” which made videos about people with disabilities. One day during a meeting at a Mexican cafe with DISLABELEDtv one of the other members, Walei Sabry who is blind and has always been a fan of “Drama Sighted”, suggested I turn “Drama Sighted” into a short film. I agreed to the idea. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had to learn the process of filmmaking from scratch. As I have said many times it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I had to cast the film myself, direct it, and eventually find someone to edit the film. My friend with CP was disappointed that BrooklynOne had not casted disabled actors in “Drama Sighted” but this was simply not possible for BrooklynOne to do because the BrooklyOne cast was playing multiple roles in all five of the winning plays as an ensemble piece and the other five plays had no disabled characters and no disabled actors were part of that theater at the time. Regardless I was determined to cast disabled actors. I found an editor named Rich. The person who Lisa was roughly based on was kind enough to describe her blind spot to me so that Rich and I could make a special effect that looked like a real blind spot. Thomas unfortunately died before we finished editing “Drama Sighted”. “Drama Sighted” was uploaded to youtube on October 12 2011. Drama Sighted still gets positive feedback to this day! “Drama Sighted” has 2,315 views and 7 likes.

After that DISLABELED told me to make a special trailer for Drama Sighted to be shown at their first film screening in 2012 with their brand new name DISLABELED Film Series. Once DISLABELEDtv changed their name to DISLABELED Film Series and decided to screen other people’s work instead of making their own films and media I had to branch out on my own with the name Crip Video Productions as soon as I had decided to go ahead and make “Only Those Who Limp Allowed”. “Only Those Who Limp Allowed” was roughly inspired by 2 people I knew who told me over the phone they each needed roommates but never wanted to be roommates with each other. In the plot of “Only Those Who Limp Allowed” and for a little bit of the plot in “Crips Not Creeps” I wanted to show the characters Nellie and Randy in a romantic relationship without objectifying the characters because I often saw disabled characters written as asexual or in a hypersexualized way and found both options extremely objectifying so I focused more on the relationship and how disability may or may not affect their interaction with each other. I decided to make this blog and, much later on, my official website, to keep all news and events related to Crip Video Productions in one central easy-to-access place. I had to take on a lot more responsibility with “Only Those Who Limp Allowed” compared to “Drama Sighted” like learning how to manage scheduling. I had to find my own voice a lot more with “Only Those Who Limp Allowed” “Only Those Who Limp Allowed” has 9,731 views. 

Then I decided to make “Crips Not Creeps”. http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/109840448686/crips-not-creeps-enhanced-visual-quality-version  I started developing “Crips Not Creeps” just days after I uploaded “Only Those Who Limp Allowed” I knew I wanted to write a fictional mystery plot. I wanted to explore the idea of morals. I wanted to try to have the disability be part of the plot without the disability being the main point of the plot. Frank is a guy who has let his pride and jealously towards Brandon turn him evil. He is smart in a manipulative way and stops at nothing to get what he wants. He feels that his position in the world of disabled performers is threatened by Brandon’s presence. Before Brandon came along Frank would get a lot of attention and had a reputation for being a great actor. Now Frank and Brandon and often compete for similar roles in stage plays. Frank knows that Brandon is more talented than he is, so he feels he has to go to drastic measures to get Brandon out of the way. I wanted it to be clear in this film that Frank is NOT jealous of Brandon over physical abilities. Frank is not bitter over being disabled. Frank just has an intense fear of being replaced. I absolutely hate being falsely accused so I wanted to explore the idea of what would happened to Brandon if he was falsely accused by his able bodied ex girlfriend due to a misunderstanding. “Crips Not Creeps” involved a lot more planning in regards to locations and visuals. I was honored to work with all of the cast and crew. “Crips Not Creeps” quickly became the fan favorite in 2015 before “A Stroke Of Endurance” was released and replaced it as fan favorite.  

Since “Crips Not Creeps” has been uploaded, my films have been getting a lot of attention in the form of good feedback,interviews, reviews,http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/167846364446/autistichistorymonth-astrokeofendurance  and successful screenings in  Santa Fe New Mexico,Kingsborough Community College and various outreach events. We did outreach for the Russian-American disability advocacy group where my words about the film “Crips Not Creeps” and my mission were translated to Russian and the film clips were played in English. http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/131307985176/charity-event-and-self-advocacy

October 2015 was Crip Video Productions film outreach month essentially because we did one outreach after the other. The 2015 and 2018 New Mexico screenings were special bittersweet experiences because I got to see some very old friends who I have not seen in years. I would advise anyone reading this not to take anyone they love in their life for granted. In terms of impact, I was able to teach an able bodied girl that CP comes in many forms, not just the most severe forms commonly seen in media and teach her about visual impairments. Like I mentioned in the previous posts I met someone who injured himself in such a way that it caused his body to tense up tremendously. His alignment was actually a lot like a person with CP after this happened. He ended up asking me about my physical therapy experiences after seeing my films and I hope I was able to assist him in this area. Like many people I know, he found physical therapy to be incredibly boring. This person was able to look at the films and be encouraged in his road to recovery. Hopefully his bout with spasticity will not be permanent, but even if he has continued muscle issues he knows tight muscles and loss of some balancing ability is not the end of the world. Life goes on either way. I think something people have to remember is unlike a person with CP like myself, who are born with a disability, people who become disabled later in life need to adapt to the new disability and may need that extra encouragement that some other disabled people don’t want or find patronizing. 

I happened to do an educational talk about Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Cerebral Palsy http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/130787737671/brain-injury-presentation  where I met people with types of brain damage that I had never even heard of before, such as brain damage that affects sleep patterns and sensory processing. These types of brain damage are almost completely invisible. I see from meeting these people that these types of brain injury are a night and day difference from my own. These people had to adjust to doing things differently which was emotionally difficult because the disabilities happened instantly but they accepted it as just part of life just as the characters in the films do. 

I got to meet people with conditions that I hardly understood like diabetes and epilepsy. For whatever reason these people felt that they could share the details of their conditions with me after seeing the films. The person with diabetes told me what low blood sugar episodes felt like. The person with epilepsy told me what a seizure felt like. I’m honored that these people were affected by the films in such a way where they would trust me without even really knowing me. It was a very brave thing for them to do. I also got a message online from somebody all the way in Italy who saw Crips Not Creeps. I don’t know how this person got around the language barrier since my films are only available in english on youtube at the moment(we would love to translate the films to other languages in the future perhaps,) but it sounded like he was somehow able to read the open captions in english or translate the open captions to Italian on his own judging from his comments. He said he appreciated my work since he had been disabled through polio. I have been contacted multiple times by both disabled and able bodied film students for advice. One of our actors, Dustin Jones, who plays Frank in “Crips Not Creeps” has also gotten a lot of attention when he appeared in various TV ads after the films release.  I have built connections through the films that I never knew were even possible! A Sociology professor even offered to show my films to her classes as a teaching tool in 2016. A Biology professor asked permission to use the films as part of his lessons in 2017 and 2018.

For “A Stroke Of Endurance”, it was roughly based on my experience with my Professor who had a stroke in November 2015. When I first met him I could immediately see he was very kind,generous, and very smart,and not just book smart. He could understand people very well and had good instincts. He was very expressive with his body language when teaching and had a vast knowledge of many subjects. On the first day of class after the other students left, he asked “You have Cerebral Palsy?” in one of the most honest ways I had ever heard. His curiosity was refreshing. Weeks later he had a stroke. When he returned to class told me he had the stroke on campus and was rushed to the hospital near the college. “I don’t even live here!” he exclaimed. 

On his second day back to class after the stroke he had a bad dizzy spell. He had signed an accommodation form for somebody then looked up at the ceiling with his mouth open in a weird expression, panting in distress, as his eyeballs rolled up and back and then side to side. His eye drifted down towards me at one point so I looked away to save him any embarrassment and stop me from panicking. When I looked back he had his head turned away with his hand over his closed eyes. “How are you?” he said to the class. “Good. How are you?” I said. “I’m a little dizzy” he replied. “Oh! Do you need help or anything?” I asked worried. “No” he said smiling as he turned off the classroom computer. He looked fine for the rest of the semester and said he guessed he had gotten dizzy because he was tired. 

Through my experiences in making “A Stroke of Endurance”. I realized that I knew things about life because of the CP that could be valuable to others. 

Some of the emotion behind "A Stroke Of Endurance” was also inspired by when one of my friends had a bad health scare with complications that could have killed her caused by a different type of blood clotting issue. I said some bad things to her face a week before she had the health scare and because I was young I exaggerated things like the Ava character did about Professor Ben’s stroke. Ava’s anxieties are highly, highly exaggerated versions of my own anxieties. So it’s the most emotional film. With “A Stroke Of Endurance” I wanted to show disability comes with both good and bad, because I felt certain movies only put emphasis on the bad aspects of disability. Putting emphasis on only the bad aspects of disability turns disabled characters into one dimensional stereotypes that are plot devices, because they focus on an external surface of a character the character has no control over. Since I kept seeing mass produced movies about disabled characters who wanted to die shortly after becoming newly disabled I wanted to make a film about a newly disabled person who wanted to live, not to die. My Professor had this vibrancy where he would embrace life head on. He did not let fear control him. If I could re create even just a small piece of that spark, the bright light I saw in him, I knew I would create something wonderful.  I wanted people who were new to the experience of life with a disability to know that they can come to us who have lived with disability from birth or childhood for support. “A Stroke Of Endurance” was the first time I attempted to act in a lead role. Up until that point I had only played secondary characters so I did my best to use all of the skills I learned from my acting mentors to bring Ava to life. 

During the writing process in 2016 I spoke to a lovely lady who had a stroke for an hour with her full permission as research to add to the realism of Professor Ben’s stroke and physical and emotional recovery. I’m forever grateful for her insights and generosity!

During the production one creative experiment I wanted to try was to see if I could make a disabled actor appear able bodied for a scene that takes place before Professor Ben becomes disabled from his stroke. I really wanted a disabled actor to play Professor Ben and I needed to show Professor Ben before he has the stroke for the story to make sense. When we shot the film the actor Tim Snoha simply stood behind a desk in such a way that his Cerebral Palsy was not visible. Later on at the shoot, Tim Snoha suggested a shot in which we see the students looking down at Professor Ben from his point of view that he filmed with his iphone while sitting on the floor. I wanted to show that while Ava was the main character, it was really Professor Ben who was experiencing the stroke directly. Ava is only an observer of Professor Ben’s experiences. Tim’s suggestion was an extension of my storytelling idea. I already had the scene where Professor Ben sees the ceiling spinning from his point of view in the script, so Tim’s idea made perfect sense. To improve the audio we had the dialogue as a separate audio layer recorded with a small recording device separate from the camera.

Through making this film, I was reminded that God gave me Cerebral Palsy and writing talents so I can help others with my films. It is my hope that my current and future work can let people know that disabled people have lives that are highly valuable. 

Once the film was released I heard from stroke survivors who said they thought the film was very accurate to their experiences. One stroke survivor loved how the Professor Ben character mentioned the stroke itself was not physically painful at all.  One person whose mother had a stroke told me they finally understood stroke from the stroke survivors perspective because of the film.  They were used to seeing films about stroke only from the caretaker perspective, not the perspective of the person with the stroke. Another caregiver to a person with a very massive stroke that caused the stroke survivor to need a ventilator also connected with the film a lot. I heard from someone in the Netherlands who loved the film and said their father-in-law had a stroke. I had comments from people saying they connected with Ava’s love of Biology. A nurse found the film helpful to her medical training. A woman in India told me she prefered my American film style to the Hindi Bollywood movies produced in India. A woman who survived a brain cyst causing a stroke told me her entire survival story after seeing the film. I had screenings for colleges where I introduced the film and we had a Q&A. Tim said he approached Professor Ben’s character as “How would it feel to not be sure if you can communicate as well as you used to and do your job, because the professor loves to teach.” and used his Cerebral Palsy as a reference. On May 10th 2018, I did a small private screening for a writing class. http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/173896946731/image-description-group-of-good-looking-college  We discussed the theme of empathy in the film. Part of the discussion was also about the effects of trauma and I was able to bring up how the effects of the physical trauma to the brain in Cerebral Palsy and Stroke led to certain symptoms. One student in that class asked how long it took to make the film. Many of the actors from “A Stroke Of Endurance” were inspired by the process of making the film to continue acting and were accepted into acting classes and other film based projects. 

In August 2018 Crip Video Productions finally managed to release audio described versions of all of our films. I knew what audio description was in 2009 even before Crip Video Productions was made but providing audio description proved more difficult than we imagined. http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/155491546901/learning-to-audio-describe-film  After multiple failed attempts at trying to edit audio description directly into all of the films from scratch that were ruined by hard drive failures on my end, we finally discovered the free service “YouDescribe” provided by youtube. http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/177003288296/a-stroke-of-endurance-audio-described

I hope to keep making more films and inspiring others creatively in the future.

Screening and World Stroke Day 2018 archive

These are archived posts from October 2018. Older posts on bottom.



October 29 2018

“A Stroke is no joke. It is very spontaneous. Many people could use help during a stroke but do not receive it due to lack of awareness. We can all help each other. All it could take to save a life is one word. Awareness.”

—

John Diodato. 

One of our actors John Diodato who has a disability and played one of the student characters in “A Stroke Of Endurance” wrote this poem for World Stroke Day 2018. John Diodato wrote another poem in honor of “A Stroke Of Endurance” here http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/175015670351/a-stroke-of-endurance-it-doesnt-matter-where 

Today October 29th 2018 is World Stroke Day 2018. In appreciation of the stroke survivors who have inspired us such as one stroke survivor who allowed us to interview her personally to ad to the authenticity of Professor Ben’s character, symptoms and recovery process, and other survivors who supported our film “A Stroke Of Endurance” from the very beginning of its creation, Crip Video Productions would like to now be a part of World Stroke Day! If you are reading this: Please learn the signs of having a stroke, including the more subtle lessor known symptoms of stroke, so severe brain damage can be prevented, especially because people do die from stroke. Please be aware that a stroke can happen at any age. Please be aware that a stroke that occurs in the womb or early infancy or early childhood is often diagnosed as “Cerebral Palsy”. In the cases where a person has already had a stroke please be a true friend to stroke survivors you know by supporting them in getting the therapy, and disability accommodations they need to readjust to post stroke life. Treat them like a human being. Listen to them. Have empathy for them, not just sympathy. If you are reading this and have already had a stroke, perhaps most importantly, please know that your life matters! Life can be full and beautiful post-stroke. You can indeed live happily post-stroke. Your opinions matter. There are people on this earth who want you here, and want to help you if you want help.  

To watch “A Stroke Of Endurance” for free with open captions and audio description, and share it with other stroke survivors and their loved ones for World Stroke Day see here http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php 

Or simply scroll down on this blog. We hope “A Stroke Of Endurance” can become a great resource for all people effected by Stroke. 

KCC Diversity Festival October 2018

Today(October 23 2018) I was invited back to the Kingsborough Diversity Film Festival for the 2nd time this year to screen “A Stroke Of Endurance” I screened “A Stroke Of Endurance” for the Spring 2018 Diversity Festival in May 2018 http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/173972696631/kcc-diversity-festival-2018 I have been a part of the Diversity Film Festival ever since it was conceived of in 2015 http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/132124383646/kcc-diversity-film-festival  and it is always an honor to be invited. 

We got the incredible opportunity to screen the film twice back to back today for about 20 or so people each time! The decision to show the film twice was a last minute surprise that was not originally planned. This marks the first time Crip Video Productions has had 2 screenings on a single day! I was thrilled to be able to share the film with so many people! I introduced the film twice saying that the film was semi autobiographical, roughly based on a true story, and that I wrote it because I wanted to show the value of the lives of disabled people and show a disabled female character who grows from her mistakes and experiences. I told them I was glad this festival included both Disability and women’s issues as part of Diversity. Disability is truly the largest minority. 

My actors and I got to do a small Q&A after each showing. One of my actors said my style of directing made it easier for them to make the character they were playing believable. One of the audience members said they never realized the similarity between Cerebral Palsy and Stroke until seeing the film. I told them that physiologically Cerebral Palsy and Stroke are almost the same(lack of oxygen to the brain) and I hoped that people with Cerebral Palsy and Stroke Survivors would work together more on issues related to brain injury and treatments like physical therapy. One audience member asked how I did auditions and we talked about how disabled actors need more opportunities to make media representative of the disabled community through their portrayals. We talked about how some newly disabled people like Stroke Survivors sometimes unfortunately become socially isolated because of lack of accessibility. We talked about a disability not always being outwardly visible. Some of the audience members were physical health and recreational therapy students and told me and the cast that they had not thought of disability much before so the film screening was timely for them. One student said he wanted to do research on disability and I told them to talk to disabled people as part of their research.  

I have full permission from Kingsborough Community College to write this post! Special thanks to KCC! 

Crip Video Productions films audio described!

This is an archived post from August 2018:

https://youdescribe.org/video/KIZProYn7R4?ad=5b730bb0e6cc7f461fb09d43

http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/177003288296/a-stroke-of-endurance-audio-described 

“A Stroke Of Endurance” audio described by Tucker Salovaara 

Synopsis: A film about friendship, faith, and endurance. The story, written and directed by filmmaker, Margot Cole, is about how a college student named Ava, who has Cerebral Palsy and her classmates must deal with varying forms of fall-out when mid-semester, their professor has a stroke that leaves him disabled. 

Starring (in order of appearance)

Margot Cole as Ava

Jorgiana Cole as Ava’s Mom

Syndia Batise as Disabled Student 1

Emma Lemanski as Disabled Student 2

Betty Lewin as Professor 1

David Salsbery Fry as Professor 2

Jill Marrello as Academic Advisor

Tim Snoha as Professor Ben

Mark Pauling as Student 1

Pedrin Villaman as Student 2

Johnny Diodato as Student 3

Krysta Williams as Student 4

Ashley Villanueva as Student 5

Izabela Ginda as Bella

Ketrina Hazell as Alice

Written and Directed by Margot Cole

Story editing by Jorgiana Cole

Casting by Margot Cole

Cinematography by Jorgiana Cole. Additional Cinematography by Tim Snoha, Johnny Diodato, Krysta Williams

Music composed by Walei Sabry

Special thanks to

Kingsborough Community College

Lori Zucker

JoJo Tarnoff 

Super special thanks to Jorgiana Cole 

This film is audio described for blind and low vision viewers. Crip Video Productions is offering audio description on our films for the very first time. Crip Video Productions apologizes for taking this long to provide audio described versions to our blind/visually impaired/low vision fan base. We attempted to add audio description to the films multiple times http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/155491546901/learning-to-audio-describe-film    https://plus.google.com/103662816758572885430/posts/QYAUkTfeQQv  Unfortunately the pervious attempts failed due to technical difficulties on my end. Luckily Tucker Salovaara who acted in our film “Crips Not Creeps” was kind enough to use a service called “You Describe” to audio describe the films for us. Special thanks to Tucker! If anyone reading this would like to use the audio described versions for screenings please contact us using our contact page http://cripvideoproductions.com/contact.php our main email cripvideoproductions@yahoo.com or our screenings email screenings@cripvideoproductions.com for instructions and details. 

©2017 Margot Cole  

https://youdescribe.org/video/KLl1NzexjP8?ad=5b71c97f7c83643ee058a9b4 

http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/177002764186/crips-not-creeps-audio-described

“Crips Not Creeps” audio described by Tucker Salovaara 

Synopsis: A few months after the events of “Only Those Who Limp Allowed” Brandon and Randy (who both have Cerebral Palsy) are still living together and things are going well, until Brandon gets accused of stalking his ex girlfriend Madison and must prove he is innocent before he loses Randy’s trust and possibly everything else he has ever worked for.

This film is audio described for blind and low vision viewers. Please note that the use of the word “Crip” (which is a shortened version of the word cripple that people in the disability community use as a slang term to refer to physically disabled individuals) is not meant as an offense to anyone who is physically disabled (such as the characters in these films) or mentally disabled, or otherwise. All of the characters in the film who are disabled are portrayed by actors who are disabled in real life. We have full legal permission to use all of the locations seen in the full film. This film has cursing in it and may not be suitable for very young children.

Crip Video Productions is offering audio description on our films for the very first time. Crip Video Productions apologizes for taking this long to provide audio described versions to our blind/visually impaired/low vision fan base. We attempted to add audio description to the films multiple times http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/155491546901/learning-to-audio-describe-film 

https://plus.google.com/103662816758572885430/posts/QYAUkTfeQQv  Unfortunately the pervious attempts failed due to technical difficulties on my end. Luckily Tucker Salovaara who acted in our film “Crips Not Creeps” was kind enough to use a service called “You Describe” to audio describe all of the films for us. Special thanks to Tucker! If anyone reading this would like to use the audio described versions for screenings please contact us using our contact page http://cripvideoproductions.com/contact.php our main email cripvideoproductions@yahoo.com or our screenings email screenings@cripvideoproductions.com for instructions and details. 

A Crip Video Production. “Crips Not Creeps” is the sole property of Margot Cole/Crip Video Productions.

https://youdescribe.org/video/zmE3aeMd1yc?ad=5b72fbc17c83643ee058a9d4 

http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/177002446116/only-those-who-limp-allowed-audio-described 

“Only Those Who Limp Allowed” audio described by Tucker Salovaara 

Synopsis: The sequel to “Drama Sighted”. Brandon, now 23, is adjusting to life with a roommate named Randy who also has Cerebral Palsy after breaking up with his girlfriend. Randy sets Brandon up on a blind date in an effort to help him move on. Tensions arise as conflicting thoughts on disability, dating, and identity are brought into the open.

Please note: This film is audio described for blind and low vision viewers. The use of the words “Gimp”, “Cripple”, and “Crip” (which is a shortened version of the word cripple that people in the disability community use to as a slang term to refer to the physically disabled such as the characters in these films) is not meant as an offense to anyone physically or mentally disabled, or associated with these films or otherwise. All of the characters in the film are portrayed by actors who are disabled in real life. This film is for educational and entertainment purposes only. We sincerely apologize for any camera shaking which may make it difficult for those prone to dizziness/vertigo or certain types of seizures to watch the film. 

Crip Video Productions is offering audio description on our films for the very first time. Crip Video Productions apologizes for taking this long to provide audio described versions to our blind/visually impaired/low vision fanbase. We attempted to add audio description to the films multiple times http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/155491546901/learning-to-audio-describe-film     https://plus.google.com/103662816758572885430/posts/QYAUkTfeQQv  Unfortunately the pervious attempts failed due to technical difficulties on my end. Luckily Tucker Salovaara who acted in our film “Crips Not Creeps” was kind enough to use a service called “You Describe” to audio describe the films for us. Special thanks to Tucker! If anyone reading this would like to use the audio described versions for screenings please contact us using our contact page http://cripvideoproductions.com/contact.php our main email cripvideoproductions@yahoo.com or our screenings email screenings@cripvideoproductions.com for instructions and details. 

https://youdescribe.org/video/WvxTwlzEAYk?ad=5b719fd25673f74614a1e3c6


http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/176961547671/drama-sighted-audio-described  

“Drama Sighted” audio described by Tucker Salovaara 

Film Synopsis: A teenage boy with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy named Brandon learns first impressions can be deceiving when he meets a drama teacher with Juvenile Macular Degeneration(a rare form of blindness)

This film is audio described for blind viewers and open captioned for deaf viewers. The characters in the film who are disabled are portrayed by actors who are disabled in real life. We were advised by someone who has Juvenile Macular Degeneration in real life when making the special effects. The special effects are based solely on this persons’ description of their disability. “Drama Sighted” was originally a one-act play that was performed at BrooklynOne Theater’s “A Playwright Grows In Brooklyn” youth playwriting contest in 2009. “A Playwright Grows in Brooklyn” was a short one act play writing contest for teens created by artistic directors Thomas Kane (who unfortunately passed away) and Anthony Marino of BrooklynOne Theater. Then it was turned into a short film. If you watch the film on Youtube you will see a logo saying “DISLABELEDtv Productions”. DISLABELEDtv was a media organization for and by people with disabilities. All the members had some sort of disability. Their original goal was to make a TV series and other short video projects centered around disability. “Drama Sighted” was one of these projects. Since “Drama Sighted” was a collaboration you may notice some slight style differences from other Crip Video Productions films. In 2012 DISLABELEDtv became “DISLABELED Film Series” http://dislabeledfilm.wordpress.com https://www.facebook.com/DislabeledPhilly which is modeled after the screening series disTHIS. https://www.facebook.com/disthis Once DISLABELED decided that they would no longer be making videos I had to branch out on my own with my own name “Crip Video Productions” “Drama Sighted” is the sole property of Margot Cole/Crip Video Productions.

Crip Video Productions is offering audio description on our films for the very first time. Crip Video Productions apologizes for taking this long to provide audio described versions to our blind/visually impaired/low vision fan base. We attempted to add audio description to the films multiple times http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/155491546901/learning-to-audio-describe-film 

https://plus.google.com/103662816758572885430/posts/QYAUkTfeQQv Unfortunately the pervious attempts failed due to technical difficulties on my end. Luckily Tucker Salovaara who acted in our film “Crips Not Creeps” was kind enough to use a service called “You Describe” to audio described the films for us. Special thanks to Tucker! If anyone reading this would like to use the audio described versions for screenings please contact us using our contact page http://cripvideoproductions.com/contact.php our main email cripvideoproductions@yahoo.com or our screenings email screenings@cripvideoproductions.com for instructions and details.