The upcoming film, “Intelligent Lives” documents the experience of several intellectually disabled people entering adulthood. Husband and wife Chris Cooper and Marianne Leone, the film’s executive producers, and Dan Habib, the film’s director, stopped by Boston Public Radio to discuss the documentary and its larger message on the positive impact of diversity.
“Disability is not always talked about as part of our natural diversity. Race, gender, sexual orientation … [are] all very important, but disability needs to be part of that communication,” said Habib. “The world is full of people with disabilities, you need to be prepared for that.”
“Intelligent Lives” is narrated by Cooper, whose son Jesse is featured in the film. To the question of whether new legislation is needed to ensure equity in schools, Leone said, “I can see, just in our local school — unless you’re on it every minute … they will back-track,” Cooper concluded.
"Intelligent Lives” airs on World Channel on October 22 at 8 p.m. as part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
