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. 

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! 

"A Stroke Of Endurance" featured on Stroke Survivor Blog

We are taking a break from posting our 2018 archives to share some exciting current news from our google plus page and email list that was released around January 15th 2019.

https://www.stromies.com/blog/guest-blog-margot-of-stroke-of-endurance

A fan of our film “A Stroke Of Endurance” http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php who is a stroke survivor, recommended a podcast about The Stromies https://strokecast.com/2018/12/21/episode-045-meet-the-stromies/ and the The Stromies Blog to Crip Video Productions. Then The Stromies kindly allowed our director Margot Cole to do a post about “A Stroke Of Endurance” for their blog about how the film specifically relates to stroke survivors. Super Special thanks to the wonderful ladies at The Stromies!
http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/182046036911/guest-blog-margot-of-stroke-of-endurance

To share this post on social media use these links
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BsxzZ6fnUtI/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stromies/posts/378748266027341?__xts__[0]=68.ARC8N8zHed6Dnnm_1qQhrdx_o4_AbiD8KX6VQjTekXuFNVCzCU0fpsYxDFv0e0Wtm3t0Mm6urBqvhPPlJ2UZ_680KTKO8_xrjgr9iguvgB1AAYjLrY97RbI-Dn-iIPfwXYhCLoBIPXDThWXl2dM2YD6Wxe2GmR5XojEIy09qMwazSoqtrZAS5-bWeYPh5wZlQ9a5JMXNqG-RkDBRWHvAZHZtSQbqn65Xa6ZQqM5APvzrjjlDahwbEJLrClc5EqhHXcJkw9bCgWk26sZ3GMjIV849rYJxek0EZTpLk-k-xqgV0eAiKfQBpTfZ0ZC8SEJ83GNjadG9ji_uVVuQAj0pu1U&__tn__=-R

Our wonderful actor Tim Snoha who played Professor Ben in our film "A Stroke Of Endurance" was featured in a UnitedHealthcare insurance ad with a message about disability which you can watch for free here https://www.ispot.tv/ad/I1a1/unitedhealthcare-dual-complete-plan-more-benefits#
We hope the link plays properly. Congratulations Tim! We are so proud of you!

Our actor Tim Snoha from “A Stroke Of Endurance” is getting press from Disabled In Action along with press for our article for The Stromies via Facebook. For more info see here on our google plus page!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1891698974285521&id=146701932118576&__xts__[0]=68.ARC2Jvk7rAaJVPhkMd16GlyFegNyQm1pkDJihWmJ9ceRR-EdN-2x1OBugVnp5jp_AU9UVKUytO9JR0OHjojDDBIAiJFNcxLJ41l9k6QXZ48f5m1aQOtW7AdP-GRPzPdEwl0_8mGhzJEhNA4gH-Ujz2tV01MlkIu2N_-LdVd3fSsEifXuSNh9MxQwSA3alJRoBg8uWzWyPyDexvMgEb-Y9YQoWBzSJKmyG_gaCpf9AcSu3v5nxuoqz-1K-JQlzUJYKyS4oNrdjNuvntwayaATkW3jGJdUWCLkVrNyKwGYxEltAw1dr4JREUYUK6jgKOpgA2BERxbwvxk3wykQeFDvdd9mgQ&__tn__=-R

Please share widely via social media and email lists! We really appreciate it!

A Stroke Of Endurance- Bloopers Open Captioned

“A Stroke Of Endurance” Open Captioned Bloopers

This is what happens when a student director with Cerebral Palsy (Margot Cole) and a bunch of very talented actors with a great sense of humor try to make a low budget independent short film. As you can see we had a ton of fun. These bloopers are open captioned for the enjoyment of our deaf and hard of hearing fans. This is the first time Crip Video Productions has been able to provide open captioned bloopers for our fans. 

To watch “A Stroke Of Endurance” see here http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/167756665756/a-stroke-of-endurance-a-film-by-margot-cole-the 

http://cripvideoproductions.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-stroke-of-endurance-open-captioned.html

http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php 

A Stroke of Endurance" audio described version (audio described versions are only available as links, not embeds): https://youdescribe.org/video/KIZProYn7R4?ad=5b730bb0e6cc7f461fb09d43

To learn more about Crip Video Productions and view accessible open captioned versions of our films please visit http://cripvideoproductions.comand http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com Find Crip Video Productions on google plus here https://plus.google.com/103662816758572885430 

A Stroke Of Endurance-Official Trailer Open Captioned

“A Stroke Of Endurance” Open Captioned Official Trailer 

Film Synopsis: A college student with Cerebral Palsy named Ava, and her classmates must deal with the emotional and physical ramifications when their professor has a stroke that leaves him disabled in the middle of the semester when they least expect it. 

To watch “A Stroke Of Endurance” see here http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/167756665756/a-stroke-of-endurance-a-film-by-margot-cole-the 

http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php 
http://cripvideoproductions.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-stroke-of-endurance-open-captioned.html 

A Stroke of Endurance" audio described version (audio described versions are only available as links, not embeds): https://youdescribe.org/video/KIZProYn7R4?ad=5b730bb0e6cc7f461fb09d43 

To learn more about Crip Video Productions and view accessible open captioned versions of our films please visit http://cripvideoproductions.comand http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com Find Crip Video Productions on google plus here https://plus.google.com/103662816758572885430 

A Stroke Of Endurance -Official Trailer

"A Stroke Of Endurance” Official Trailer 

Film Synopsis: A college student with Cerebral Palsy named Ava, and her classmates must deal with the emotional and physical ramifications when their professor has a stroke that leaves him disabled in the middle of the semester when they least expect it. 

To watch “A Stroke Of Endurance” in full for free, see here http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/167756665756/a-stroke-of-endurance-a-film-by-margot-cole-the 

http://cripvideoproductions.com/astrokeofendurance.php 

"A Stroke of Endurance" audio described version (audio described versions are only available as links, not embeds): https://youdescribe.org/video/KIZProYn7R4?ad=5b730bb0e6cc7f461fb09d43

To learn more about Crip Video Productions and view accessible open captioned versions of our films please visit http://cripvideoproductions.comand http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com Find Crip Video Productions on google plus here https://plus.google.com/103662816758572885430 

"A Stroke Of Endurance" review/Synopsis archive

This is an archived post from September 2017 from when we were still in the editing process with "A Stroke Of Endurance" but we did not post the review to our official website until after "A Stroke Of Endurance" was uploaded to youtube. To avoid major spoilers please watch "A Stroke Of Endurance"  online for free before reading this post!

Russian embedded dolls where layers of representation keep appearing-that is what resonates in this complex and provocative film "A Stroke Of Endurance" written and directed by Margot Cole, which provides a window into the disability experience and the thoughts and attitudes of ableism. Margot Cole reveals herself to be a multi faceted artist (observing of life, writer, actor, and director). 

In this her latest production released on Youtube, a group of college students, some with disabilities, some without-learn their professor has suffered a devastating stroke, leaving them temporarily unmoored. 

Ms. Cole also acts in the film as the central character Ava, in a flashback scene of her encounter with a college counselor who is clueless about her. Feeling offended by the counselor's rude and condensing attitude and the counselor's insistence that because Ava is physically disabled, she should major in disability studies, Ava indignantly departs the counselling session. 

We next view Ava lamenting over Professor Ben's stroke. She believes it was possibly a result of her silently cursing him, and wishing him dead, because of her dismay over the high cost of a textbook, that Professor Ben had explained, was for required reading. Following the professor's return to the classroom, his students observe him struggling with a difficult recovery. Classmate Alice suggests that Ava might help Professor Ben manage the disabling effects of his stroke by sharing her experience of living with a disability. Alice explains that it "doesn't overcome your life" and in fact one "can actually thrive in spite of a handicap". Ms. Cole imbues her theatre of life with karmic restitution as Professor Ben gratefully accepts Ava's help. Their disabilities inform their relationship showing how endurance and coping with challenges, foster strength. 

Ms. Cole presents to her viewers, through a lens of subjective experiences, the broad spectrum of abilities and disabilities both in herself and in others. Her graceful beauty enhances the dynamic and powerful insights in this film. - Geraldine Pauling (disabled psychologist) NYC 9/09/17

A Stroke Of Endurance

"A Stroke of Endurance" audio described version (audio described versions are only available as links, not embeds): https://youdescribe.org/video/KIZProYn7R4?ad=5b730bb0e6cc7f461fb09d43

A Stroke Of Endurance" Open Captioned version http://cripvideoproductions.tumblr.com/post/168590664831/via-httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv-xnthe1xbybs 

"A Stroke Of Endurance" a film by Margot Cole, the writer and director of "Drama Sighted", "Only Those Who Limp Allowed" and "Crips Not Creeps"

Synopsis: Crip Video Productions presents a story of friendship, faith and endurance... A college student with Cerebral Palsy named Ava, and her classmates must deal with the physical and emotional ramifications when their professor has a stroke that leaves him disabled in the middle of the semester when they least expect it.

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 

©2017 Margot Cole  

Please note: The disabled characters in this film are all portrayed by actors who have disabilities in real life. The use of the word "Crip" in "Crip Video Productions" is not meant as an offense to anyone associated with these films or otherwise. We have full permission to use the locations seen in the film. Crip Video Productions' mission is to increase understanding of disability through storytelling. This film has cursing and some intense scenes and may not be suitable for children under 13.

"A Stroke Of Endurance" is the sole property of Margot Cole/Crip Video Productions.