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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.
Dessa Cozma with Cat
Dessa Cozma with Cat
United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
Image of Tzu-Han Chou in front of a Large Stone Statue.
Image of Tzu-Han Chou in front of a Large Stone Statue.
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.
Quarter profile of Leroy Moore Jr. smiling, wearing a red t-shirt
Quarter profile of Leroy Moore Jr. smiling, wearing a red t-shirt
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.
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.
Kathryn Tijerina
Kathryn Tijerina
Aarti and Ashaita
Aarti and Ashaita
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.
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.
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.
Photo of self taught artist, Davis Wohlford with North Pole Studio.
Photo of self taught artist, Davis Wohlford with North Pole Studio.
At North Pole Studio in Portland Oregon. Zian and Austin.
At North Pole Studio in Portland Oregon. Zian and Austin.
Yah Charitable Trust
Yah Charitable Trust
Community Vision provides services, education, and advocacy to ensure that people with disabilities direct their own lives. We work with our community to foster inclusion, enhance accessibility, and achieve systems change.
Community Vision provides services, education, and advocacy to ensure that people with disabilities direct their own lives. We work with our community to foster inclusion, enhance accessibility, and achieve systems change.
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.
Maya Dawn Thomas
Maya Dawn Thomas
Aisha Abioto
Aisha Abioto
Janice Fialka and Richard Feldman
Janice Fialka and Richard Feldman
Amantina Contreras with baby 1946
Amantina Contreras with baby 1946
CATA
CATA
Toni Hickman
Dessa Cosma
Sponsor United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame
Tzu-Han Chou
Judy Rubin, PhD, ATR-BC, HLM
LeroyMooreJr.
Ray Short III
Glenn Stewart
Dr. Alette Coble-Temple
DonnaWalton
Ryan Hudson-Peralta
IMG_0602
Aarti & Ashaita at Café Arpan (2022)
Photo of Lateef McLeod, an accomplished writer and scholar. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Anthropology and Social Change.
Joy Elan
PHAME
PHAME 2
PHAME 3
Rob Smith
Davis Wohlford
Zian and Davis
7575D360-B058-429A-90D2-3FDCFB402BD7
Aisha Abioto
Austin Brague
Yah Charitable Trust
SATA
DWD Divas With Disabilities
5D2B1B4A-10F4-4F35-9EAE-5A854870AA89
Laddie
Copy of Ani_Grigorian_Headshot
Maya Dawn Thomas
8D797541-782C-4B27-AA3F-1657FB55479B
F4DB80A7-B18E-42F6-BCD7-7FB9F7D56333
Aisha
E6E03015-8697-492E-9D43-AB39931CF0E9_1_201_a
Ramiro_Alvarez_Headshot
Grandmother Amantina
Teressa Raiford
Copy of Kaci_Messeder_Headshot
Portland Creative Arts Therapies
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Photo of Emmy award winner Toni Hickman 2021 Rising Phoenix song. She is a brain aneurysm and stroke survivor.
Dessa Cosma
Sponsor United Cerebral Palsy Oregon
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame
Tzu-Han Chou
Portrait of Judy Rubin.
Leroy Moore Jr.
Ray Short III
Portrait of Glenn Stewart
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.
Dr. Donna Walton
Ryan Hudson-Peralta
Kathryn Tijerina
Aarti & Ashaita at Café Arpan (2022)
Photo of Lateef McLeod, an accomplished writer and scholar. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Anthropology and Social Change.
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.
PHAME is a fine and performing arts academy serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
PHAME 2
PHAME 3
Rob Smith
Photo of self taught artist, Davis Wohlford with North Pole Studio.
Zian and Davis
Teddy Dorsette III is a Deaf filmmaker, entrepreneur and social justice advocate from the city of Detroit
Aisha Abioto
At North Pole Studio in Portland Oregon. Zian and Austin.
Yah Charitable Trust
Community Vision provides services, education, and advocacy to ensure that people with disabilities direct their own lives. We work with our community to foster inclusion, enhance accessibility, and achieve systems change.
DWD Divas With Disabilities
5D2B1B4A-10F4-4F35-9EAE-5A854870AA89
Laddie
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.
MayaDawn Thomas
8D797541-782C-4B27-AA3F-1657FB55479B
F4DB80A7-B18E-42F6-BCD7-7FB9F7D56333
Aisha
E6E03015-8697-492E-9D43-AB39931CF0E9_1_201_a
Circular 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
Teressa Raiford is an activist and politician in Portland, Oregon, United States. She founded the local Black-led non-profit Don't Shoot Portland.
A circular headshot of a smiling, mid-20s white woman. She has curly, shoulder-length dark brown hair. She is wearing colorful earrings, a beaded necklace, and a bright orange blazer, with a lip and eyebrow piercing.
Portland Creative Arts Therapies
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MAGNIFICENT, DIFFERENT AND BEAUTIFUL

This is a new documentary uniting adults with disabilities from around the world called, We are the Most Beautiful, Adults with Disabilities. We are a crew of 3 in Portland, Oregon, who want persons with disabilities from around the world to know they are cared for and they are respected members in our communities. We live in a world that for too long has centered on the rights and needs of able bodied people. Our documentary challenges the notion of beauty and centers the lived experience of people who live with disabilities. We believe this film will make a significant contribution to the disability justice movement and help raise awareness and deconstruct norms embedded in culture.

While understanding that ableism and inspiration porn are embedded in our culture, we want to share stories unapologetically and authentically. It is packed with stories and information to educate and shed light on the experience of individuals with disabilities. As the social model of disability illustrates, society places limits on people, not disabilities. This will be the first film to unite a minority group that spans the globe. Persons with disabilities are the world’s largest minority, yet still today, are not seen by many.

Dehumanizing persons with disabilities is still in the consciousness of today’s society. We’re hoping that this film will be a catalyst to change the paradigm of systemic ableism that continues all around the world. Disability can happen to anyone, it is part of being human. Most humans and animals at some point will experience disability in their lives. What we can do, is embrace our different lived experiences with respect, acceptance and compassion. Disability is not a bad word.

We’ll be sharing their triumphs, failures, and their dedication to living their best lives. From physical to psychological and invisible, persons with disabilities are capable, smart, interesting, talented, funny, strong, beautiful, and so much more!

We’re so grateful to be working on this very important documentary.

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/ 

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