Description:

Filmmaker Jason DaSilva has been living with a severe form of multiple sclerosis for over 10 years. In his wheelchair, Jason begins to realize just how many places he is unable to experience with his son. To solve that, he continued working on the website AXS Map to help him determine the places he could go. When his son moves 1700 miles away to Austin, Jason attempts to relocate to Austin, which reveals to him the extent of the broken Medicaid system. He discovers that state-run Medicaid would require him to live in a nursing home.

Biography:

Jason DaSilva has been a prolific filmmaker for the past 15 years. He has directed four short films (Olivia’s Puzzle, A Song For Daniel, Twins of Mankala, First Steps) and two feature length-documentary films (Lest We Forget and When I Walk). DaSilva’s latest film, When I Walk, won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Programming and won Best Canadian Feature at Hot Docs. Jason also won three awards: AAPD Mobility Magazine’s Person of the Year, the Paul E. Hearn Leadership Award, and the Christopher Award for Excellence in Film.

Leigh DaSilva began his independent filmmaking career producing alongside Jason DaSilva on First Steps, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival He then went on to produce the feature-length documentary When I Walk. Leigh also produced the mobile application AXS Map, which is a crowd-sourced platform for mapping wheelchair accessible locations. It has received funding from numerous donors, including Google through the Tides Foundation. He is the President of the award-winning production company In Face Films.

Richard O’Connell is an Emmy Award winning filmmaker who worked for 15 years at ITVS serving as Head of Production and later a Senior Producer of National Productions. During his time at ITVS, Richard oversaw the production, delivery and broadcast of over 500 films to PBS and all the national series including Frontline, American Masters, POV and Independent Lens. His current film, The Corridor looks at the first high school to be built inside an adult jail. Richard also won a National Emmy Award as a Producer of the film The Homestretch.