For another year, Film Pittsburgh will demonstrate that the magic of movies is for everyone with ReelAbilities Pittsburgh, a film festival that focuses on telling the stories of individuals with disabilities.

Starting on Thursday and running until Sept. 11, ReelAbilities Pittsburgh will feature a variety of genres and film lengths that highlight a full spectrum of life experiences.

“It elevates the disability community in the filmmaking community to be able to present and celebrate their work,” said Shanna Carrick, executive director of Film Pittsburgh.

This is the 13th ReelAbilities Pittsburgh, and the showcase is an affiliate festival of ReelAbilities International, a nonprofit started in 2007 to support disability cinema. Other iterations exist in cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, Cleveland and Denver.

Here in Pittsburgh, the festival will be in person from Sept. 4-6 at Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University Downtown. From Sept. 5-11, it will also be held virtually.

“We love that we are able to offer these virtual screenings because this does make it truly accessible for everyone, no matter your physical mobility,” said Carrick.

She also noted that remote showings make it safer for those who are immunocompromised and may be concerned about in-person events.

Featured in this year’s film program are a dozen short films ranging in length from 12-30 minutes, as well as five feature films. Selections are made in conjunction with ReelAbilities International.

The two feature films being shown in person are “Color Book” on Thursday and “Deaf” on Saturday.

“Our big feature is ‘Color Book,’ which is about a really wonderful father-son relationship. The mother has just passed and the son has Down syndrome, so now the single father is trying to find his way through the world and make his son happy at the same time while grieving,” Carrick said.

The film will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, and a talkback will follow with the director and the film’s star, who acted for the first time in “Color Book.”

On Saturday, the feature film “Deaf” will be shown in person. “It’s a Spanish language film about a deaf mother,” Carrick said. “So it’s not ASL, it’s Spanish Sign Language.”

A panel discussion will also follow the screening.

There are two blocks of short films in the ReelAbilities Pittsburgh lineup, including entries such as documentary “At See,” drama “Key of Genius” and drama-comedy “Calico.” Most chosen films are American, but several have origins in countries that span the globe, from Taiwan to the Netherlands.

Film Pittsburgh programs a diversity of independent films for various festivals around the city, including the annual Three Rivers Film Festival. Carrick is committed to assuring that films made by and about people with disabilities are included in that festival as well. They are also committed to making screenings as accessible as possible.

“One of our core values that we’ve been saying a lot is that film is for everybody,” she said.

To see the full slate of films and purchase individual tickets or festival passes, visit filmpittsburgh.org.

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