April 22, 2021 | sobczakd
This year Oscars show signs of progress. People with disabilities are very much the least represented groups in the film and tv industry. But three films featuring disabilities are up for major nominations. For Best Picture (Sound of Metal), Actor in a Leading Role (Riz Ahed, Sound of Metal), Actor in a Supporting Role (Paul Raci, Sound of Metal), Documentary (Crip Camp), and Short Film Live Action, (Feeling Through) are all hoping to take home a golden statue in their category. Though they are not yet on dvd, here are the Oscar-winning films in our collection that feature disabilities.
Renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received the diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of: time. Eddie Redmayne won for Best Actor.
Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a diagnosis of Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease, Alice and her family find their bonds thoroughly tested. Based on the book by Lisa Genova. Julianne Moore won for Best Actress.
Based on the bestselling book by Matthew Quick, the riotous and poignant story of how a bipolar man who has lost everything, his house, his job, his wife, reconnects with himself and creates his own silver linings from the bonds he forms with his family and friends. Jennifer Lawrence won for Best Actress.
A 38-year-old man who has spent most of his life in an iron lung enlists the help of a sexual surrogate in order to lose his virginity in this drama starring Oscar-nominated actor John Hawkes and inspired by the life of poet/journalist Mark O'Brien. Helen Hunt won for Best Supporting Actress.
Ray Charles went blind at the age of seven. Inspired by his mother who insisted he make his own way, he found his calling at the keyboard. 'Ray' follows as he overcomes drug addiction while becoming one of the country's most beloved performers. Jamie Fox won for Best Actor.
The true story of a troubled Princeton mathematician who is able to overcome years of suffering from schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize. Won Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay, Jennifer Connelly won for Best Supporting Actress, Ron Howard for Best Director.
The story of Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy. He learned to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot. Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor and Brenda Fricker for Best Supporting Actress.
A callous young hustler living in California finds his father has died and left him only rose bushes and a '49 Buick convertible. Feeling cheated out of what he thinks should be his 3 million dollar inheritance, he kidnaps the autistic brother he never knew he had, and takes him on the ride of his life. Won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, Dustin Hoffman won Best Actor and Barry Levinson won Best Director.
A love story about John Leeds, an idealistic special education teacher, and a headstrong deaf girl named Sarah. At first, Leeds sees Sarah as a teaching challenge. But soon their relationship blossoms into a love so passionate it shatters the barrier of silence that keeps them apart. Marlee Matlin won for Best Actress.