NH Outlook special about "Including Samuel"
In this NH Outlook special, NH Outlook's Richard Ager visits with the Habib family at home in Concord and talks with them about how making the film has affected their lives. Richard also attends a public school screening where Dan Habib engages students in a conversation about INCLUDING SAMUEL. In revealing moments, students talk about how the film has changed their perception of disabilities.
The program also includes highlights of the recent New England Inclusive Education Leadership Summit, where panelists and participants discussed strategies to remove barriers to inclusive education. >>
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. When his son was being treated for life-threatening pneumonia, a doctor urged Habib, then photography editor at the Concord Monitor, to use his talents to document Samuel’s story.
Shot and produced over four years, Habib's award-winning documentary film honestly chronicles the Habib family's efforts to include Samuel in every facet of their lives. The film also features four other families with varied inclusion experiences, plus interviews with dozens of teachers, young people, parents and disability rights experts.
The documentary, Habib says, “shows it’s possible that all people with disabilities can be included” in everyday life. Along the way, he discovered that inclusion has benefited not only Samuel, now 9, but also the children in his school, who have become “more well-rounded and more empathetic.”
On a NH Outlook special, producer Richard Ager attends a public school screening where Habib engages students in a conversation about Including Samuel. In revealing moments, the students talk about how the film reflects the experience of many families. Ager also has highlights of the New England Inclusive Education Leadership Summit, where panelists and participants discussed strategies to remove barriers to inclusive education.
Going behind the scenes, Outlook's Ager 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.”
Including Samuel has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, Good Morning America NOW and in the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. Exceptional Parent magazine said “Including Samuel is a must see film.” The film won the Positive Images in Media award from TASH, an international group committed to the full inclusion of people with disabilities. The film was also screened at the Sprout Film Festival at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC) and named “Best Documentary” at the Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival.
The Including Samuel Project is part of the Institute on Disability/UCED, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization at the University of New Hampshire. The project’s mission is to build more inclusive schools and communities through curriculum, training, and outreach.
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