Disability Rights Film ‘Crip Camp’ Premieres On Netflix
An award-winning documentary produced by former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama centering on the origins of the disability rights movement is making its debut.
“Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” chronicles how in the early 1970s a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities brought together a group of people who would be pivotal in seeking civil rights protections for themselves and others like them.
The feature-length film uses footage taken at Camp Jened near Woodstock, N.Y. and follows the story of how many of the camp’s alumni were instrumental in the protests that led to passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act.
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“I think our film is a film that many in the disabled community have been waiting for,” said Jim LeBrecht, a director of the documentary and himself a former camper. “A watershed film about the disabled experience. One that confronts stigma and fear around disability, and leaves you with a new perspective, love and respect for the disabled. That’s the hope, anyway.”
The documentary is one of seven projects that the Obamas announced last year that they would bring to Netflix as part of a multi-year deal with the streaming service to produce films and series.
The former president called the film a “tribute to an extraordinary group of people who, in speaking out in whatever way that they could, shaped our country’s course.”
“‘Crip Camp’ is both a gripping look at the history of the disability rights movement and a timely call to action, urging us to explore our own duty to fight for the dignity of all people,” Obama said.
Earlier this year, “Crip Camp” won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Crip Camp” premiered on Netflix this week.
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