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Photo of Emmy award winner Toni Hickman 2021 Rising Phoenix song. She is a brain aneurysm and stroke survivor.
Photo of Emmy award winner Toni Hickman 2021 Rising Phoenix song. She is a brain aneurysm and stroke survivor.
Matthew Monias aka MattMac
Matthew Monias aka MattMac
United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
Community Vision Portland
Community Vision Portland
RACC Regional Arts Culture Council
RACC Regional Arts Culture Council
PHAME is a fine and performing arts academy serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
PHAME is a fine and performing arts academy serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Detroit Disability Power
Detroit Disability Power
North Pole Studio Logo
North Pole Studio Logo
Yah Charitable Trust
Yah Charitable Trust
María Soledad Cisternas Reyes
María Soledad Cisternas Reyes
Dessa Cozma with Cat
Dessa Cozma with Cat
Aarti and Ashaita
Aarti and Ashaita
Lizzie Acker
Lizzie Acker
Image of Leroy Moore Jr.
Image of Leroy Moore Jr.
Image of Tzu-Han Chou in front of a Large Stone Statue.
Image of Tzu-Han Chou in front of a Large Stone Statue.
Keith Jones
Keith Jones
Portrait of Judy Rubin. She's smiling wearing a purple sweater. She has short white hair.
Portrait of Judy Rubin. She's smiling wearing a purple sweater. She has short white hair.
Photo of Joy Elan, an award winning author and spoken word artist from Oakland and Berkeley, CA. She uses her writing to advocate for civil rights for Blacks/people of color, women, and people with disabilities. With her poetry and novels, she speaks about social issues that affect people from locally to globally.
Photo of Joy Elan, an award winning author and spoken word artist from Oakland and Berkeley, CA. She uses her writing to advocate for civil rights for Blacks/people of color, women, and people with disabilities. With her poetry and novels, she speaks about social issues that affect people from locally to globally.
Ray H. Short III
Ray H. Short III
Close up portrait of Glenn Stewart. He's wearing an orange t-shirt.
Close up portrait of Glenn Stewart. He's wearing an orange t-shirt.
Kathryn Tijerina
Kathryn Tijerina
Photo of Dr. Alette Coble-Temple is a full professor at University of San Francisco. She is an advocate for the rights of parents with disabilities. She was the 2016 Miss Wheel Chair America.
Photo of Dr. Alette Coble-Temple is a full professor at University of San Francisco. She is an advocate for the rights of parents with disabilities. She was the 2016 Miss Wheel Chair America.
Photo of Lateef McLeod, an accomplished writer and scholar. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Anthropology and Social Change.
Photo of Lateef McLeod, an accomplished writer and scholar. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Anthropology and Social Change.
Maya Dawn Thomas
Maya Dawn Thomas
Janice Fialka and Richard Feldman
Janice Fialka and Richard Feldman
At North Pole Studio in Portland Oregon. Zian and Austin.
At North Pole Studio in Portland Oregon. Zian and Austin.
Portrait of Ani from the chest up. Her straight dark hair blows back in the wind and she smirks with a closed-mouth smile. She has white skin, and wears gold earrings, a gold chain necklace and a lavender v neck shirt that seams down the middle.
Portrait of Ani from the chest up. Her straight dark hair blows back in the wind and she smirks with a closed-mouth smile. She has white skin, and wears gold earrings, a gold chain necklace and a lavender v neck shirt that seams down the middle.
Aisha Abioto
Aisha Abioto
Amantina Contreras with baby 1946
Amantina Contreras with baby 1946
RACC Regional Arts and Culture Council
RACC Regional Arts and Culture Council
United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
Toni Hickman
Mattmac – Press Photo 13
Co-Sponsor United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
Co-Sponsor Community Vision
Regional Arts & Culture Council
PHAME Academy
Detroit Disability Power
DWD Divas With Disabilities
northpolestudiologo
Yah Charitable Trust
María Soledad Cisternas Reyes
Dessa Cosma
DonnaWalton
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame
Aarti & Ashaita at Café Arpan (2022)
Lizzie Acker
LeroyMooreJr.
Tzu-Han Chou
Keith Jones
Judy Rubin, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM
Joy Elan
Ray Short III
Glenn Stewart
Kathryn Harris Tijerna
Dr. Alette Coble-Temple
Ryan Hudson-Peralta
Lateef McLeod
Teddy Dorsette III
Maya Dawn Thomas
Janice Fialka and Richard Feldman
Teressa Raiford
Rob Smith
Austin Brague
Gabrielle Guedon and Zian Chavez in Portland, Oregon
Ani Grigorian
Aisha Abioto
Ramiro Alvarez
Grandmother Amantina
racclogoround
Co-Sponsor United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
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Photo of Emmy award winner Toni Hickman 2021 Rising Phoenix song. She is a brain aneurysm and stroke survivor.
Matthew Monias Image
United Cerebral Palsy Oregon Logo
Co-Sponsor Community Vision
RACC Logo
PHAME is a fine and performing arts academy serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Detroit Disability Power
DWD Divas With Disabilities
northpolestudiologo
Yah Charitable Trust
María Soledad Cisternas Reyes
Dessa Cosma
Dr. Donna Walton
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame
Aarti & Ashaita at Café Arpan (2022)
Lizzie Acker
Leroy Moore Jr.
Tzu-Han Chou
Keith Jones
Portrait of Judy Rubin.
Photo of Joy Elan, an award winning author and spoken word artist from Oakland and Berkeley, CA. She uses her writing to advocate for civil rights for Blacks/people of color, women, and people with disabilities. With her poetry and novels, she speaks about social issues that affect people from locally to globally.
Ray Short III
Portrait of Glenn Stewart
Kathryn Tijerina
Photo of Dr. Alette Coble-Temple is a full professor at University of San Francisco. She is an advocate for the rights of parents with disabilities. She was the 2016 Miss Wheel Chair America.
Ryan Hudson-Peralta
Photo of Lateef McLeod, an accomplished writer and scholar. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Anthropology and Social Change.
Teddy Dorsette III is a Deaf filmmaker, entrepreneur and social justice advocate from the city of Detroit
MayaDawn Thomas
Janice Fialka and Richard Feldman
Teressa Raiford is an activist and politician in Portland, Oregon, United States. She founded the local Black-led non-profit Don't Shoot Portland.
Rob Smith
At North Pole Studio in Portland Oregon. Zian and Austin.
Gabrielle Guedon and Zian Chavez in Portland, Oregon
Ani Grigorian
Aisha Abioto
photo of a smiling Rami wearing a white shirt and straw hat in front of a mango tree branch. Rami has light brown skin with black hair and piercings between the eyes on his nose bridge and on the earlobes. Four green mangoes hang from the top-right edge of the frame and dangle around Rami’s face, covering parts of the straw hat. The background is a green open field with out of focus, tall trees.
Grandmother Amantina
racclogoround
United Cerebral Palsy Oregon Logo
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WE ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

Adults with Disabilities

Our documentary is a social justice film that challenges the notions of beauty and centers on the lived experiences of adults with disabilities.

We have disability representation from Ghana, India, Taiwan, Chile, Canada, UK and the US. We live in a world that for too long has centered on the rights and needs of non-disabled persons. Our documentary challenges the notion of beauty and centers on the lived experience of people who live with disabilities. We believe this film can make a significant contribution to the disability justice movement, help raise disability awareness and deconstruct norms embedded in cultures worldwide. This is the first film uniting a minority group that spans the globe. Person’s with disabilities are the world’s largest minority, yet still today are not seen.

Our film explores the concept of what it means to be beautiful. In a social media driven culture, humankind faces superficial concepts of beauty daily. We are flooded with unrealistic ideals of how one should look and act. In our research we have found inequities worldwide and our interviews support these inequities. Black and Brown persons with disabilities are the most marginalized. Our underlying theme dismantles the concept of beauty and highlights strengths and innate qualities that humans encompass raising awareness. Disability can happen to anyone at any time, it is part of being human. What we can do is embrace each of our unique lived experiences with respect, acceptance and compassion.

We live in a world that for too long has centered on the rights and needs of non-disabled persons. While exploring the definition of disability, this film provides insights into systemic problems disabled individuals endure on a daily basis. These struggles are often not seen or acknowledged by the greater whole. Historically our world tends to share the stories and truths of those with the most power. The medical model sees disabled people as broken or damaged humans who need to be fixed or cured. The social model decenters power focusing on how the individual is actually disabled by the environment around them. In the social model disabled people are normal human beings who should have the same right to access all aspects of the world just as they are.

While understanding that ableism and inspiration porn are embedded in our culture, we want to share stories authentically and unapologetically. It is packed with stories and information to educate and shed light on the experience of individuals with disabilities.

From physical to psychological and invisible, persons with disabilities are capable, smart, interesting, talented, funny, strong, beautiful, and so much more! Disability is not a bad word.

Director: BA Short
Cinematographer: Robert Lafady
Producer: Zian Chavez

“Over the years my life and work allowed me to re-examine what I thought beauty was. In my own experience of 30 years living with chronic pain and discomfort with MS, I couldn’t imagine feeling beautiful. I imagine those who have known hardship, known suffering, have an unrelenting spirit, and have hearts of gold. I believe that shine manifests into something beautiful. Having a disability doesn’t make me less than human, in my experience my disability has taught me to be a better human.” – Zian Chavez

WATMBP LLC acknowledges we are located on the territory of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and other indigenous nations, ceded under duress between 1848 and 1855. Currently, Multnomah County is home to the 9th largest urban Indigenous population. For more information and an interactive map, visit https://native-land.ca/ 

Movie Poster for We are the Most Beautiful People | Adults with Disabilities
Image Description: Director, BA Short; Producer, Zian Chavez and cinematographer, Robert Lafady all of them sitting in the back of taxi.
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