ReelAbilities

What ReelAbilities does

ReelAbilities International, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2007 and headquartered at 215 W. 92nd St, New York, that operates the world's largest disability film festival and a connected ecosystem of year-round disability-focused programming. The organization was launched at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan and became an independent nonprofit in 2024. Its mission centers on reframing disability representation through film, supporting disabled creators, and providing gold-standard accessibility (open captions, audio description, ASL interpretation, CART captioning, sensory-friendly spaces) at all events.

The product portfolio spans multiple channels: the flagship ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York (now in its 18th edition, 35+ films across 20+ venues); ReelAbilities Stream, a proprietary accessible streaming platform launched July 2023 offering disability-focused film rentals at $1.99 (shorts/documentaries) and $3.99 (features), enhanced in November 2025 with the Poppins sensory-friendly viewing mode; ReelAbilities Industry Summit (annual, now in 5th edition) featuring pitch competitions with jurors from NBCUniversal, Amazon/MGM, ITVS, and AMC Networks; ReelEducation providing K-12 curriculum resources; ReelAbilities at the Workplace, a corporate DEI screening program; and a network of 10+ affiliate festivals across the US, Canada, and Mexico.

The revenue model is a nonprofit hybrid dominated by donations and corporate sponsorships, supplemented by modest streaming transaction fees, in-person ticket sales, fiscal sponsorship fees for filmmaker projects, and the newly launched Loreen Arbus Completion Award ($10,000 prize). Named corporate sponsors include Pfizer, Vimeo, Nielsen, Barclays, NFL, Estee Lauder, and the Nielsen Foundation. Go-to-market combines event-driven programming, community-led advocacy, and direct sales to corporate DEI buyers. The organization is led by co-founder and CEO Isaac Zablocki, with COO Ravit Turjeman and Director of Engagement Lawrence Carter-Long.

Name

ReelAbilities

Legal name

ReelAbilities International, Inc.

Website

https://reelabilities.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Film Festival and Cultural Nonprofit Programming

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121), Postproduction Services and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries (51219), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

Accessible Media Production (Alt Formats, Captioning, Audio Description) (EDALAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts & Culture Documentaries (MPADADAI), Accessibility, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) & Inclusive Content Services (EDAGAKAJ), Training, Safety & Compliance Video (MPADAEAM)

Keywords

• Disability film festival
• Accessible streaming platform
• Corporate DEI programming
• Disability inclusion education
• Nonprofit cultural programming

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Individual donations through one-time and monthly giving programs, with options for dedication gifts. Corporate sponsorships and partnership packages providing visibility and engagement opportunities across year-round initiatives.
2. Streaming Subscriptions and Rentals: ReelAbilities Stream generates revenue through individual film rentals priced at $1.99 for short films/documentaries and $3.99 for feature films, available for online viewing with full accessibility features.
3. Ticket Sales and Festival Passes: Revenue from in-person festival tickets and passes, as well as virtual streaming access during festival windows and post-festival streaming periods.
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Partnership packages for sponsors offering visibility across ReelAbilities Stream, ReelEducation, flagship Film Festival, and affiliate festivals. Includes national exposure and location-specific collaborations.
5. Fiscal Sponsorship Program: Mentorship and fiscal sponsorship for disability-focused film projects and disabled creators, providing tax-exempt status and administrative support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ReelAbilities runs the world's largest dedicated disability film festival and a surrounding year-round programming ecosystem, including its flagship annual New York festival, affiliate festivals across North America, the ReelAbilities Industry Summit, the ReelEducation K-12 program, corporate workplace screenings, and the ReelAbilities Stream accessible on-demand streaming platform. Every offering is built around gold-standard accessibility (open captions, audio description, ASL interpretation, CART, sensory-friendly venues) and curates films by and about people with disabilities to advance authentic representation and inclusion.

Product overview

ReelAbilities is a nonprofit organization operating a platform-plus-programs architecture centered on disability storytelling through film. The core offerings include the flagship ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York (annual in-person and virtual film festival), ReelAbilities Stream (accessible streaming platform with on-demand disability-focused films), ReelAbilities Industry Summit (annual industry event for disability inclusion in entertainment), ReelEducation (K-12 educational resources), ReelAbilities at the Workplace (corporate DEI programming), ReelTalks (post-screening discussions), Affiliate Festivals (regional festival network), and Resources/Opportunities portals. The ecosystem is tied together through ReelAbilities Stream as the central digital platform, with the annual festival and industry summit driving content, partnerships, and community engagement across all programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ReelEducation: Free resources for educators to teach students about disability and Deaf culture, including films and lesson plans for grades K-12
• ReelAbilities Stream
• ReelAbilities at the Workplace
• Industry Summit
• ReelTalks

Products and services

• ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York (RFF NY) Annual flagship disability film festival in New York presenting 30+ films across 20+ venues with gold-standard accessibility features (open captions, audio description, ASL interpretation, CART), intended for disability community audiences, filmmakers, and industry professionals.
• ReelAbilities Stream Proprietary accessible streaming platform offering disability-focused films on demand for individual consumers, featuring sensory-friendly Poppins viewing modes, open captions, audio description, and ReelTalks conversations.
• ReelAbilities Industry Summit Annual premier industry gathering on disability inclusion in film and performing arts, featuring keynotes, pitch competitions, networking, and sessions on hiring, funding, and career opportunities for disabled creatives.
• ReelEducation Free educational resources for K-12 educators to teach students about disability and Deaf culture, including inclusion, empathy, universal design, mental health, and stereotypes, with films, lesson plans, and discussion guides.
• ReelAbilities at the Workplace Corporate workplace program bringing disability-focused films and facilitated conversations to offices to advance workplace inclusion and DEI objectives, including curated film selection, curatorial consultation, and accessibility guidance for hosting inclusive workplace events at companies such as Pfizer, Vimeo, Nielsen, Barclays, NFL, and Estee Lauder.
• Affiliate Festivals Network of regional ReelAbilities film festivals across North America extending the festival's disability storytelling mission to local audiences in cities including Chicago, Cleveland/Akron, Columbus, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New Jersey, Greater Washington, Pittsburgh, and Toronto.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of audience members report positive shifts in perception of disability after attending
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• NYC Mayor's Office of Media & EntertainmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026Organizing partner for the ReelAbilities Industry Summit, providing official support and collaboration for the premier industry gathering on disability inclusion in entertainment.
• Rotten TomatoesflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 March 2026Rotten Tomatoes Audience Award partnership, the inaugural award recognizing standout feature-length films at ReelAbilities and expanding critical and public conversation around disability storytelling.
• AMC Networks / AMC+coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership extending beyond visibility into practical career support for disabled creatives through industry participation, mentorship, and the AMC Global Media Mentorship program.
• ITVScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPitch program juror and mentorship provider for disabled filmmakers, offering DOC NYC PRO PASS and production support through the Crip Script nonfiction track.
• NBCUniversalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPitch program juror and executive meeting provider for filmmakers competing in the Rough-Cut Pitch program, expanding industry relationships.
• Amazon Prime Video / MGM StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPitch program juror for disabled filmmakers, providing industry feedback and potential distribution pathways.
• Impact PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPitch program juror providing documentary filmmaking expertise and potential funding connections.
• NYC Public SchoolsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroundbreaking partnership providing all K-12 educators unlimited access to ReelAbilities films, lesson plans, and discussion guides through the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning.
• The Valuable 500coreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for Industry Summit advertising panel examining disability representation standards in advertising and shaping cultural narratives.
• Walk and Roll for SCIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating partner for ReelCommunity 2026, showcasing resources available year-round to people of all ages, stages, and abilities.
• Shine GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership award for pitch competition winners, supporting documentary filmmaking focused on disability and social issues.
• NYWIFTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership awards for filmmakers at ReelAbilities, recognizing outstanding work and building bridges across film and advocacy.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sprout Film Festival: New York-based disability film festival operated by the JCC Manhattan ecosystem; the closest direct competitor to ReelAbilities in curating and screening films by and about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with overlapping NYC audience and venue pool.
• SUPERFEST International Disability Film Festival: Long-running disability film festival hosted by the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco, directly competing for disability-focused film premieres, audience, and sponsorship attention within the same niche as ReelAbilities.

Emerging players

• RespectAbility: National nonprofit advancing disability inclusion in entertainment, politics, and the workplace; competes with ReelAbilities for corporate DEI consulting budgets, studio talent pipelines, and policy/advocacy visibility in the same disability-and-media space.
• Inclusion Films: Disability-led film production and training program focused on preparing filmmakers with developmental disabilities for Hollywood careers; overlaps with ReelAbilities on Industry Summit programming, mentorship, and filmmaker pipeline development.

Broad incumbents

• Tribeca Festival: Major New York-based film festival that has added accessibility programming and disability-themed sections; competes with ReelAbilities for the same NYC venue partners, sponsor pool, and filmmaker attention.
• Sundance Film Festival: Premier US independent film festival with an accessibility program; competes for prestige, sponsor dollars, and film premieres at a much larger scale, and its accessibility lab defines the bar ReelAbilities must exceed in disability programming.
• Hot Docs: North America's largest documentary festival, screening many of the same feature-length disability documentaries that compete for ReelAbilities programming slots; a key acquisition and festival-circuit competitor for premiere films.
• DOC NYC: America's largest documentary festival, an industry partner of ReelAbilities through ITVS but also a venue competitor for the same feature documentary premieres, audiences, and corporate sponsors in New York.

Others

• Easterseals: National disability services nonprofit with deep corporate and donor relationships; competes indirectly with ReelAbilities for philanthropic dollars and corporate partner attention in the broader disability-inclusion space.
• American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD): Major cross-disability civil rights organization that overlaps with ReelAbilities on policy advocacy, corporate inclusion engagement, and donor audiences, though without a film-festival focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/reelabilities
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ReelAbilitiesFest
• Facebookfacebook.com/reelabilities
• Instagraminstagram.com/reelabilitiesny
• TikToktiktok.com/@reelabilitiesny

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ReelAbilities