‘Oska Bright’, world’s leading learning disability film festival goes online for the first time

‘Oska Bright’ is world’s largest film festival that features movies made by people with learning and intellectual disabilities and even casts them as actors. The festival is going online this year for the first time due to Coronavirus pandemic. Titled ‘Oska Bites’, the team has featured a couple of movies online already during first week of July. The film festival will run throughout this year till February 2021.

The Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown in most parts of the world has shifted many activities to online platforms. Carousel’s ‘Oska Bright Film Festival’, one of the world’s leading learning disability film festivals is also going online this year. Titled ‘Oska Bites’, they have already featured two movies on their Facebook page and then official website too. The team is gearing up to put up some exciting movies in days to come.

What is Oska Bright Film Festival?

‘Oska Bright’ is one of the world’s leading learning disability film festivals and the venture was started from Brighton in England.

All the movies screened for the festival are made by people with intellectual and learning disabilities or the actors featured are those with disabilities. Mostly autism, Down syndrome and other learning disabilities. In fact, there are many people with intellectual and learning disabilities from across the world who have proved their expertise in film-making and even acting skills. But they are hardly given a platform in mainstream entertainment industry. So the film festival aims to amplify voices of those people.
‘Oska Bites’ will run from July 2020 to February 2021 on their Facebook page and website.

Experts speak

It is undoubtedly a great initiative, agrees film fraternity from India.

Nithin Renji Panicker, a renowned film-maker from South India says, “This is one of the best things that I have come across on the internet today. It is a sad fact that people with disabilities are often sidelined in mainstream cinema and not given a chance to prove their skills. In fact, even characters with disabilities are portrayed by able-bodied people. So such film festivals give them a great platform. Even mainstream film-makers can watch it and identify some great talents”.

Ann Augustine, an Indian actor says, “I’am definitely going to check this out. I hope I can come across some Indian talents too”.

Vivek Harshan, a renowned film-editor who is also a national award winner says, ‘Right now, we have too much time in our hands. As someone who works closely with the industry, I wouldn’t want to miss such an innovative film festival. I’am looking up to check out some interesting talents of people with disabilities from across the world”.

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