Samuel Habib’s goals are pretty typical for a 21-year-old. Moving out of his family’s New Hampshire home. College. Establishing his career. Dating. Sex. Yet every rite of passage is fraught with challenges. Unexpected seizures and uncontrollable movements caused by his rare genetic disorder. Friends’ homes that are inaccessible to his wheelchair. His labored speech and use of a communication device are barriers to a social life. He craves more independence and a family of his own one day. “But no one tells you how to be an adult,” he says, “let alone an adult with a disability.” Samuel is determined to avoid the statistical realities: unemployment, isolation, institutionalization. A turning point comes when he starts talking to disabled adults, who have been through all he is going through now. And when he begins to channel their insights, a roadmap for himself, and for other young adults like him, begins to take shape. Co-director Samuel Habib and Daniel Habib join us to talk about their collaboration , getting to know the wide range of activists, artists, athletes, and stage performers, including; Bob Williams, Ali Stoker, Lydia X.Z. Brown, Keith Jones – Cerbal Palsey, Maysoon Zayid, Andrew Peterson and human rights legend Judith (Judy) Heumann, as well as the opportunity to showcase how and why we all need to be better creating and sustaining a more inclusive society for all.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: rideaheadfilm.com

About the filmmaker – Daniel Habib is the co-director and producer of the Emmy Award-winning New York Times Op-Doc My Disability Roadmap (2022, also a Critics Choice nominee) and the director and producer of Intelligent Lives (2018, America ReFramed), and nationally broadcast (PBS) feature documentaries Including Samuel, Who Cares About Kelsey?, and Mr. Connolly Has ALS. Dan is the founder of LikeRightNow Films and his documentaries have been featured at major festivals including DOC NYC, Hot Docs, and Hot Springs. Dan gave the TEDx talk, “Disabling Segregation” and received the Justice for All Grassroots Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities. In 2014, Dan was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. He is currently the Inclusive Communities Project Director at the Westchester Institute for Human Development. Dan served as Producer, Co-Director and Director of Photography on THE RIDE AHEAD. 

About the filmmaker – Samuel Habib is the Emmy Award-winning co-director of the New York Times Op-Doc My Disability Roadmap. Samuel was a story consultant on the nationally broadcast film Mr. Connolly Has ALS. His viral short video on his encounter with then-candidate Joe Biden was featured in Forbes Magazine. In 2016, he created a film about disability rights leader Judy Heumann that was featured in the Breaking Down Barriers Film Festival in Moscow, Russia. Samuel has been a Concord Monitor newspaper columnist and has presented nationally on disability rights, inclusive education, and his educational and social transition to adulthood. Samuel uses a wheelchair for mobility and a communication device (as well as his voice) to express himself. In addition to exploring his current and future academic and career options, Samuel also navigates significant, chronic health challenges due to his underlying GNAO1 Neurodevelopmental Disorder. He is a community college student and multimedia production assistant and presenter at the Westchester Institute for Human Development. On THE RIDE AHEAD Samuel served as Co-Director, Central Participant, and Camera Operator. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/therideahead

x.com/TheRideAhead

instagram.com/therideaheadfilm

instagram.com/samuelhabibfilms

instagram.com/danhabibfilms

Reviews:

“The Ride Ahead gets its urgent, breezy tone from Samuel who, speaking through his electronic voice, offers us a running commentary on his evolving mindset — from being excited to go off to college to worrying that he will not fit in.” – Tim Grierson, Screen International