2 Weddings & a Future

Images

Topics

Human Rights: Disability, Social Exclusion
Information & Media: Culture, Knowledge
Politics: Activism

Project Geography

US: New York

Identity Niches

Disability Culture

Budget

Raised to date: $30,000.00
Estimate to complete: $270,617.00
Total Estimated Budget: $300,617.00
The budget numbers above are accurate as of 06/08/2009

Status

Production

Media Type

Video

Project End Use

TV

Key Personnel

Alice Elliott
Director

Alice Elliott’s most recent film, Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy is a rare look at a symbiotic relationship between two people some would call profoundly disabled. Told in an intimate, veritè style, the film is a story of a compelling, creative friendship, as Diana, who has Down Syndrome, and Kathy, who has cerebral palsy, model a grand experiment in independent living. This well-received film has been screened at over 30 film festivals and has won numerous awards including the AAIDD Media Award, the TASH Award for Positive Images in Media, and Superfest’s Best of the Fest. Alice’s The Collector of Bedford Street was nominated for an Academy Award in the short documentary category and won the Best Documentary, Horizon Award, and Audience Award at its world premier at the Aspen Shortsfest. Since then it has been to more than 90 festivals and has won 20 awards including the Audience Award and the Florida Forever Filmmaker Award at the Florida Film Festival, the Family Award at the USA Film Festival, the jury award for best documentary at the Big Bear Lake Film Festival, the overall award at the Ojai Film Festival, Best Documentary and a special citation at the Silver Street Film Festival, and a Henry Hampton Award from the National Council on Foundations. Prior to these films, she produced the award-winning documentary Diamonds in the Rough, about the inner city baseball team of George Washington High School in Washington Heights, Manhattan and co-produced Grist for the Mill which aired on Cinemax in June of 1999. Alice has several documentaries currently in production, including Two Weddings and a Future about the Christian and Hindu weddings of Carrie and Sujeet Desai, a couple with Down Syndrome and One World: Everybody Eats which centers on an idealistic young woman and her “pay what you wish” restaurant in Salt Lake City.

Alice is a full time faculty member at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. As a performer, she appeared on ABC's daytime drama LOVING for ten years and made two feature films including Four Friends directed by Arthur Penn.

For major publishers in New York, she has recorded English as a Second Language programs and was one of the speakers on the TOEFL English Standard audio tests. In addition she has produced or performed in over 200 commercials. She teaches a voice over class for NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and coaches voice over clients, radio personalities, and public speakers.

She is a former board member and secretary of New York Women in Film and Television and currently serves on the scholarship committee.

Funders

Location