Renegades: Disabled Icons in October on PBS

SADC produced Audio Description for a new digital series of five documentary short films showcasing the lives and cultural contributions of little-known historical figures with disabilities called Renegades. In April, 2025, the series won a Webby Award for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (Series or Channel).

Hosted by award-winning musician and disability rights champion Lachi, Renegades premiered Tuesdays, October 1 – October 29 on the American Masters YouTube channel, PBS.org and the PBS App in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Overall accessibility for the series, including ASL interpretation, captioning, and descriptive transcript, was coordinated and created by D-PAN, the Deaf Professional Artist Network.

For the AD production, Cheryl Green was the project lead, as well as writer, along with Oliver Baker. Narration by Thomas Reid and non-collective member Tanja Milojevic. Blind QC by Robert Kingett, Bex León, and Nefertiti Matos Olivares.

The Renegades World Premiere onsite premiere was free at The Kennedy Center on September 29th, 2024, and in Manhattan at the Marlene Meyerson JCC, co-sponsored by ReelAbilities Film Festival on October 1st, 2024. Please note that some onsite screenings are planned to have live audio description, not the SADC-produced AD.

Visit the Renegades page on PBS to learn where to watch online or on the app with audio description, ASL, and captions.

#CherylGreen #CherylGreenWriter #CherylProjectLead #MarLeón #NefertitiBlindQC #NefertitiMatosOlivares #OliverBaker #OliverWriter #RobertKingett #ThomasReid

Last winter, student curators worked with two disability justice mentors from Melanie Hood-Wilson and Associates and six local disabled accessibility consultants on improving access for their Baltimore-based exhibitions of Elizabeth Talford Scott’s art. Students come from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Morgan State University, Johns Hopkins, and Coppin University.

Members of the group will present about their experiences designing accessible exhibitions at the Maryland Citizens for the Arts Summit, held June 20th and 21st, 2024. At this presentation, they’ll screen the audio described short film, Nothing Without Us: A Baltimore Story, which documents the collaboration.

Written by Project Lead Cheryl Green, Blind QC by Nefertiti Matos Olivares, narrated and audio edited by Thomas Reid.

https://socialaudiodescription.com/2024/06/12/nothing-without-us-a-baltimore-story/

#CherylGreen #CherylGreenWriter #CherylProjectLead #NefertitiBlindQC #NefertitiMatosOlivares #SADC #ThomasReid

2024 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge

Here’s SADC receiving thanks from master of ceremonies Nic Novicki at the award ceremony.

The SADC provided audio description for 15 of the 16 finalists for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, now in its 11th year. (The winner for Best Film, entitled Audio Description, had AD already supplied and central to its story.)

The films each showcase deafness or disability, and had to be scripted, shot and finished all within five days, all by volunteers, and this year all in the form of a buddy comedy.

Prizes are awarded in six categories. At the same time, winners also receive exposure and introductions to entertainment industry professionals and executives.

This was the first year in which finalist films were provided professional AD in advance of the winners being announced. Given the contest’s constraints, the description had to happen fast and under secrecy.  SADC is proud to have been the EDFC’s choice.

Project Lead was Thomas Reid. Writers were Cheryl Green, Oliver Baker, and Kensuke Nakamura. Blind QC by Nefertiti Matos Olivares and Robert Kingett. Narrated by Thomas, Cheryl, Oliver, Nefertiti, and Barbara Faison.

Check out a playlist of the open captioned, open audio described finalist films.

#BarbaraFaison #CherylAudioEditor #CherylGreen #CherylGreenWriter #CherylNarrator #EastersealsDisabilityFilmChallenge #KensukeNakamura #NefertitiBlindQC #NefertitiMatosOlivares #OliverBaker #OliverNarrator #OliverWriter #RobertKingett #ThomasReid

SADC recently produced audio description for Samuel and Dan Habib’s documentary, The Ride Ahead. The Ride Ahead is a major expansion of their Emmy Award winning film My Disability Roadmap, which SADC also audio described.

Samuel Habib is a typical 21-year-old, itching to move out, start a career, and find love. But, as he says in the film, “no one tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability.” Can a community of disability activists help him follow his dreams?

The Ride Ahead will have its world premiere at the 2024 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival as part of the Special Presentations Lineup. Tickets go on sale April 2nd. The festival runs from April 25th to May 5th, 2024 in Toronto.

Project Lead Cheryl Green wrote the AD. Robert Kingett did blind QC. Nefertiti Matos Olivares narrated. Audio was edited by Thomas Reid.

https://socialaudiodescription.com/2024/03/19/the-ride-ahead/

#CherylGreen #CherylGreenWriter #CherylProjectLead #NefertitiMatosOlivares #NefertitiNarrator #RobertKingett #SADC #ThomasReid