{"id":5140,"date":"2020-02-28T14:04:33","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T22:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/?p=5140"},"modified":"2020-02-28T14:04:33","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T22:04:33","slug":"inclusion-films-produces-the-award-winning-film-carol-of-the-bells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/inclusion-films-produces-the-award-winning-film-carol-of-the-bells\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusion Films Produces the Award-Winning Film, Carol of the Bells"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Inclusion\nFilms\u2014dedicated to training filmmakers who have developmental disabilities\u2014celebrated\na huge win at the San Diego International Film Festival in October 2019. The\norganization\u2019s first feature-length project Carol of the Bells<\/em> earned\nthe festival\u2019s coveted Audience Choice Feature Film Award after a screening\nmoved viewers to tears. The story follows a troubled young f bellather named\nScott (RJ Mitte of Breaking Bad<\/em>), whose painful childhood memories have\nbegun to strain the relationships he holds most dear. Scott plans to find his\nbiological mother, for whom he harbors deep resentment. The search takes an\nunexpected turn when Scott\u2019s wife discovers that his birth mother is a woman\nwith Down syndrome who never intended to place him for adoption. The film\u2019s portrayal\nof characters with developmental disabilities is both refreshingly genuine and\nprofoundly beautiful. People with special needs comprise an impressive 70\npercent of the film\u2019s production crew. Carol of the Bells<\/em> is available\nfor purchase on all streaming platforms as of March 3.<\/p>\n\n\n

Inclusion\nFilms was founded in 2007 by veteran filmmaker and special education teacher Joey\nTravolta (John\u2019s brother). The organization\u2019s mission is to increase\nneurodiversity in the film industry. With six dedicated production studios\nthroughout California, the program offers vocational workshops for aspiring\nfilmmakers who have developmental differences. In addition, the organization\nhosts youth film camps nationally. Over the years, many students have grown\ninto professional roles on major production teams. <\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\nall about employment,\u201d says Travolta. \u201cDoors are opening! I\u2019ve been trying to pound\nthem down for years and a film like Carol of the Bells <\/em>helps open those\ndoors.\u201d Recently, Inclusion Films alums have worked on The Dr. Phil Show<\/em>\nand the Netflix series, Special, <\/em>which has been renewed for a second\nseason. \u201cThat\u2019s what excites me,\u201d says Travolta, \u201cwhen I see my guys working\nnot for me, but for somebody else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

In San Diego, Inclusion Films offers workshops in partnership with Options for All. Each workshop is a 20-week intensive designed to prepare adult students for employment in film and media production. Funding is provided by the Regional Center or by private payment. An intake process is necessary to determine whether the program is a good fit. To express interest in a film workshop, contact your coordinator at San Diego Regional Center (or your local branch) or email Vincenzo Tarantino at vtarantino@optionsforall.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

To learn more, visit www.inclusionfilms.com<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Anne Malinoski is a contributing writer and mother of two boys. Her older brother has special needs<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inclusion Films\u2014dedicated to training filmmakers who have developmental disabilities\u2014celebrated a huge win at the San Diego International Film Festival in October 2019. The organization\u2019s first feature-length project Carol of the Bells earned the festival\u2019s coveted Audience Choice Feature Film Award after a screening moved viewers to tears. The story follows a troubled young f bellather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[36,35,37,38],"class_list":{"0":"post-5140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-info","8":"tag-carol-of-the-bells","9":"tag-joey-travolta","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-special-needs-actors","12":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/specialneedsresourcefoundationofsandiego.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}