The Weinstein JCC is proud to host its annual ReelAbilities Diversity and Inclusion Festival during the month of February, known as Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month.
The festival, free and open to the entire community, will run Feb. 8-10 and is part of ReelAbilities Film Festival, the largest festival in the U.S. dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities.
In addition to film screenings, the festival also includes post-screening discussions and engaging programs meant to bring the community together to explore, discuss, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience.
A highlight of the festival will be a conversation with author, Qian Julie Wang, whose debut memoir, Beautiful Country, is a New York Times bestseller and a Today Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick.
Qian Julie was born in Shijiazhuang, China. At age 7, she moved to Brooklyn, New York, with her parents.
For five years thereafter, the three lived in the shadows of undocumented life in New York City.
Qian Julie’s first book is a poignant literary memoir that follows the family through those years, as they grappled with poverty, manual labor in sweatshops, lack of access to medical care, and the perpetual threat of deportation.
Beautiful Country puts readers in the shoes of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world.
The virtual program will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. For tickets and more details, visit weinsteinjcc.org.
