HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS (Wed, June 18)

[aleja]

HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS
Followed by Q & A the band and gig with 4 Wheel City @ Arlene's Grocery!
SPECIAL DATE: Wednesday, June 18th!
Link: http://www.disthis.org/June-18-2008.htm

Join disTHIS! for the NY premiere of HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS, a feature documentary about the UK’s only 'mixed-ability' punk band prior to the movies premiere on the Independent Film Channel (IFC), June 23rd!  IFC and other  media outlets will be there to document the film screening and post-screening concert at Arlene's Grocery for broadcast!

HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS opened to rave reviews last March at the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX. Rural England’s answer to the Ramones, the band includes musicians with and without developmental disabilities. True to their punk roots, the band was recently considered “too hardcore for BBC Radio Four” (the English equivalent of NPR) when a segment on the band was axed from a story about disability and self-determination.

The movie chronicles a year in the life of the band as they hit the road and attempt to navigate a combustible flux of ego, ambition, and fantasy that fuels any emerging act on tour.

The band will also be bringing their STAY UP LATE campaign to the United States. STAY UP LATE fights for disabled folks who want to go out to clubs, etc. but often end up going home early because their support workers don't want to work late. Fight for your right to party!  Be sure to catch the band's first gig in NYC. This will be a rare opportunity to attend one of their energetic, and sometimes chaotic, live performances stateside - which has earned them a cult following in the UK!

SPECIAL DATE:  Wednesday, June 18th
WHERE: DCTV, 3rd Floor Screening Room
87 Lafayette Street (By Subway: 6, N, R, Q, W, J, M, Z to Canal Street; go two blocks south) between Walker & White.
START TIME: Doors open 5:30pm. Screening begins promptly @ 6pm!
DONATION: A bargain @ $5!!!
DON’T MISS OUT! To RSVP and reserve YOUR seat, call: 212.284.4160 or email: disthis@dnnyc.net

“Don’t be misled by the title. HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS plays like Metallica’s SOME KIND OF MONSTER meets HOW’S YOUR NEWS,” says disTHIS! curator, Lawrence Carter-Long. “It’s everything you want in a band movie with a disability twist. Not to be missed!”

disTHIS! movies, talkback sessions and related events are open to the public. $5 donation. There will be a discussion with the band and film director following the screening! HEAVY LOAD: A FILM ABOUT HAPPINESS is captioned. ASL interpretation available upon request. Space is wheelchair accessible. There is a cash bar for drinks, but space is limited to the first 65 people!  Presented in association with the Realabilities NY Disability Film Festival.

After the screening, STAY UP LATE with HEAVY LOAD as the guys make their NYC concert debut @ Arlene’s Grocery (95 Stanton Street) with local krip-hop favorites FOUR WHEEL CITY!!!  Concert tickets only $8! Get directions here:
http://www.hopstop.com/route?zip2=10002&address2=95+STANTON+ST&mode=s

About us: The disTHIS! Film Series, a program of the Disabilities Network of NYC in association with DCTV, is a showcase of festival quality independent and international short, documentary and feature films with disability themes beyond clichés. disTHIS! movies are always provocative; never what you’d expect. No handkerchief necessary, no heroism required. This is disability through a whole new lens!

The disTHIS! Film Series is made possible by the generous support of The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the Screen Actors Guild, the NYU Community Fund, the United Way and our members.

For more information & to sign up for exclusive email updates, go to: http://disthis.org