"Including Samuel" Documentary to Air in October on NHPTV

NH Outlook Special Follows Documentary

MEDIA CONTACT FOR Including Samuel
Matthew Gianino, Manager of Marketing and Communications, Institute on Disability at UNH 
(603) 862-2300 | Matthew.Gianino@unh.edu

Online press kit: www.includingsamuel.com/presskit

A Screening Toolkit is available at www.includingsamuel.com. Toolkits are for young people and adults who would like to host viewing parties around the broadcasts. 

INCLUDING SAMUEL
Photojournalist Dan Habib rarely thought about the inclusion of children with disabilities before he had his son Samuel nine years ago. Now he thinks about inclusion every day. In this award-winning film, Habib documents his family's efforts to include Samuel in every facet of their lives, a journey that transforms them all. The film also features four other individuals with disabilities speaking about their experiences.

INCLUDING SAMUEL, followed by a NH OUTLOOK special: 
Monday, October 5th at 8 p.m.; Friday, October 9th at 1 p.m.; Sunday, October 11th at 10 p.m.; and 
Friday, October 16th at 10:30 p.m.

(DURHAM, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009) – Before his son Samuel was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, photojournalist Dan Habib rarely thought about the inclusion of people with disabilities. Now he thinks about inclusion every day. Habib’s award-winning documentary INCLUDING SAMUEL, about his family’s commitment to including Samuel in every aspect of life, airs on New Hampshire Public Television Monday, October 5th @ 8 p.m. A NH OUTLOOK special about the film’s impact on the Habib family follows @ 9 p.m.  The film and the NH OUTLOOK special will air several times during October; check nhptv.org for the broadcast schedule. 

Produced over four years, Habib's film documents his family's hopes and struggles as well as the experiences of four other individuals with disabilities and their families. INCLUDING SAMUEL is a highly personal, passionately photographed film that captures the cultural and systemic barriers to inclusion. 

In the NH OUTLOOK special, producer Richard Ager goes behind the scenes and visits with the Habib family at home in Concord and finds out how the film evolved and has affected their lives. “Clearly, the film became a family effort,” observed Ager. “They all feel they’re a part of something bigger by transforming their lives into a tool to help others.” Ager also attends a public school screening where Habib converses with students about INCLUDING SAMUEL. In revealing moments, the students talk about how the film reflects the experience of many families. Finally, the program has highlights from the New England Inclusive Education Leadership Summit. 

INCLUDING SAMUEL is part of the Institute on Disability/UCED at the University of New Hampshire (www.iod.unh.edu), where Habib is the Filmmaker in Residence.  Since it was released in 2008, the film has been screened nationally and internationally, and has also been featured on NPR, Good Morning America, as well as in the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. Prior to joining UNH in April 2008, Habib was a nationally recognized photojournalist and the photo editor at the Concord (NH) Monitor.

NH OUTLOOK, NHPTV’s award-winning weekly public affairs program, focuses on state, regional and national issues. With engaging guests and experts, the discussion format offers lively and relevant perspectives.