Feeling Through Studio: Power of Media to Change Perceptions on Disability

Wed Mar 08 2023 at 04:00 pm to 06:00 pm

De Neve Plaza Room | Los Angeles

UCLA Disability Studies
Publisher/HostUCLA Disability Studies
Feeling Through Studio: Power of Media to Change Perceptions on Disability
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Join us for a conversation with filmmaker, Doug Roland, and one of his collaborators who is DeafBlind.
About this Event

Join us for a conversation with the filmmaker behind Feeling Through/Feeling Through Studio, Doug Roland, and one of his collaborators who is DeafBlind as they discuss the necessity of collaborative, inclusive media and the impact it can have on transforming people's understanding and relationship to disability.

Academy Award nominated Feeling Through is the first film to star a DeafBlind actor, and has been shared in universities, institutions, and conferences around the world to promote awareness and understanding of the DeafBlind community. Now, the team behind the film is furthering this work by developing Feeling Through Studio: an online educational platform where the DeafBlind and disabled communities share their lived experience and knowledge on topics pertaining to disability.


Event Photos

Doug Roland Bio:

Doug Roland is an Oscar-nominated director for his film Feeling Through, which is the first film to star a DeafBlind actor. Featured on The Nightly News with Lester Holt, The Daily Show, in The New York Times, and LA Times and winner of over 150 film festival awards, Feeling Through is executive produced by Oscar winner Marlee Matlin and was made in partnership with Helen Keller National Center. Doug has used the film and companion documentary to create accessible screening events and speak at conferences, institutions, and schools around the world about collaborative, inclusive storytelling.

Doug produced the short documentary, Barefoot Empress, which is executive produced by Dr. Deepak Chopra and directed by Michelin star chef and humanitarian, Vikas Khanna. They have used the film to raise funds in service of providing high quality education for girls in underserved communities across India. To date, Barefoot Empress has helped rehabilitate 18 classrooms in India, with many more on the way.

Doug’s short film Jada became a viral sensation with over 25 million views on YouTube. He also produced the feature film Life Hack which won 16 awards on the festival circuit, including Best Independent Feature at the Cleveland International Film Festival. He studied film at the University of Wisconsin Madison and FAMU in Prague.


Pastor Francis Bio:

Born Deaf on January 14, 1947, at the age of 16, Francis learned he had Usher’s Syndrome. Francis has B.A degree in Art from Gallaudet University, an M.A. in painting from CSRN, and a BA in linguistics. God called him to serve Him on July 4th, 1974 so he attended a missionary school in Dallas, TX then went for a PhD at International Seminary in Florida. Since then, Francis has been traveling as a missionary in various countries such as Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Honduras, etc. Francis had established two churches for the Deaf: one in Japan in 1984 and the InterCommunity Church in Covina, California where he serves as Senior Pastor of Deaf/ASL congregation.

Francis is involved as a pastor, missionary, teacher, counselor and actor. He acted in TV show called, “Dr. Wonder’s Workshop” which aired on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). In 2011, Francis’ sight declined into blindness so he trained at Helen Keller National Center in Long Island, NY. Francis and his wife, Kimie, who is Deaf Japanese woman, have two grown daughters and two grandchildren.


Parking Information

Self-pay parking is available at Parking Structure DD. More information on how to pay and campus maps from UCLA Transportation.

Campus COVID-19 Protocols

Face masks: Masking is not required but is strongly recommended at all indoor campus events. Masking is optional outdoors but is recommended when in large crowds or at events where physical distancing is not feasible.

The Daily Symptom Survey is not required to attend. Instead, individuals are asked to assess themselves for COVID-19 symptoms. If you do have symptoms, please refrain from coming to campus, attending classes and/or leaving your residence; you should take a COVID test, isolate and, if the results come back positive, contact UCLA campus health officials.

Accessibility

This event will have ASL translation, CART Captioning, and the venue is wheelchair accessible. We encourage guests to make this is a fragrance-free event.

Media Advisory

Please note you will be attending an event where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. The Disability Studies Program will highlight this event, which means your name, image or video (video and/or audio) may appear on our website, social media, or other media formats. By attending the event, you consent to the Disability Studies Program photographing, filming and using your image and likeness.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

De Neve Plaza Room, 351 Charles E Young Drive West, Los Angeles, United States

Tickets

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