What better way to express yourself than on the "big screen"! Great films can do more than entertain; they can provoke discussions and encourage us to think about life in different ways.

The Insights Film Forums, part of the Abilities Arts Festival in Toronto, were created to do exactly that. "The forum is important to initiate a dialogue, to generate an understanding of the issues," says Deborah Cohen, the festival's Executive Director and Producer. "It's all about changing public perceptions on the contributions artists with disabilities can and do make in shaping the cultural fabric of our community," she says.

The festival has been showcasing award-winning local and international films for a number of years now. However, this is the first year that the focus has expanded to include open dialogue between filmmakers and the audience.

Cohen made sure that everyone in the audience had the opportunity to participate in discussion forums. The films were screened at the Al Green Theatre, a fully accessible venue. The Abilities Arts Festival provided other services to people with disabilities, such as ASL interpretation, real-time captioning of the film discussions and open-captioned or subtitled films.

This year's festival took place on three Saturdays in late September and early October, with each night focusing on a different theme. The films featured writers, producers, directors and actors with disabilities.

Dancers with physical disabilities graced the screen in the first three films of the festival, which focused on "Taboos, Dance and Body Diversity." The second instalment of films featured stories of people on a "Journey to Self-Definition." The theme for the final Saturday was "The Right to Choose your own Path." These films consider and discuss the freedom for individuals with disabilities to make their own decisions.

All the films challenged the audiences to question their own definitions of disability and ability. Cohen noted that the forums facilitated open discussions about some of the assumptions we sometimes make about people with disabilities.

Film forums are in the works for next year and the Abilities Arts Festival is looking to build on their success. Almost every film was sold out this year, and feedback was very positive.

“Reading the feedback forms, people have remarked that the film forum format allowed for engaging and moving films and thought provoking dialogue," says Cohen.

For more information on the film forums and on the Abilities Arts Festival, visit www.abilitiesartsfestival.org.