Explore our Full Schedule at Access: Horror on Eventive.

Panel A: History of Horror

Panelists will discuss representation of disability across the history of horror, from silent cinema to the present, with particular attention paid to how disabled villains and heroes are depicted. Moderated by Ariel Baska.

  • Ariel Baska is a multiply Disabled queer horror and documentary filmmaker who believes in advocacy and accessibility for marginalized communities. She wrote and directed the horror short, Our First Priority, about medical gaslighting, which won the BAFTA-qualifying Advocacy Award from Superfest Disability Film Festival. As a producer, she works in both narrative and documentary, with numerous projects on the festival circuit. She was a speaker at SXSW in 2022 and 2023, and is a fellow of the PAM CUT Sustainability Lab, endowed by the NEA for interdisciplinary artists, and also a fellow of the RespectAbility Entertainment Lab.

    She is a podcaster, non-profit owner, and internationally-published writer who curates creative spaces for disabled filmmakers. Her work can be seen on Ride the Omnibus, her podcast and non-profit parked at the intersection of pop culture and social justice.

  • Lawrence Carter-Long is a difficult man to pin down and that's just the way he likes it. LCL, as friends call him, has been on the frontlines of popular culture and social change since the age of five when he was drafted to be a poster child for a disability-related charity campaign.

    A lifelong activist, as an adult Lawrence has been a modern dancer, radio show host and producer, and was the curator/co-host of groundbreaking festival The Projected Image: A History of Disability on Film on Turner Classic Movies reaching 87 million people.

    His advocacy has been awarded by the likes of former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg and the American Association of People with Disabilities. Formerly the Public Affairs Specialist for the National Council on Disability-the independent federal agency that brought us the Americans with Disabilities Act, he joined the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund in July 2017, as our first-ever Director of Communications and spearheads the Disability & Media Alliance Project.

    In his communications work, Lawrence has both set-up media coverage of numerous disability issues in, and been interviewed by, respected outlets like USA Today, Associated Press, the New York Times, The Daily Show, the BBC, and CNN among other notable news source. He's even given Dear Abby advice about disability and dating. His interview with NPR is about the evolution of disability as a concept, and in language.

  • Kieran Cowan is an expatriate Canadian who now lives in Arlington, Virginia. He is a pop culture expert with a special interest in Doctor Who and Golden Age detective fiction, and a particular focus in the real world social implications of mass media and genre. He spent over a decade question setting for Canadian quiz shows and has made appearances at conventions and on several podcasts (including Ride the Omnibus) on a variety of subjects. Coming from a family with a history of both serious disability and of proud disability advocacy he's honored to be asked to take part in Access Horror.

  • Mo Moshaty is a horror writer, lecturer and producer. Flexing her horror acumen, coupled with her additional vocation as a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, Mo has lectured with Prairie View A&M in Texas as a keynote speaker for Nightmares of Monkeypaw: A Jordan Peele Symposium, with Horror Studies BAFSS Sig for No Return: A Yellowjackets Symposium, with Centre for the History of the Gothic at the University of Sheffield and the University of California for The Whole Damn Swarm: Celebrating 30 Years of Candyman and Final Girls Berlin Film Festival's Brain Binge on Women's Trauma Within Horror Cinema.

    As a core member and producer with Nyx Horror Collective, creators of 13 Minutes of Horror Film Fest for Woman-Identifying and Non-Binary creatives, she has partnered with horror streaming giant, The Shudder Channel for 2021 and 2022, as well as Stowe Story Labs where the collective has created a fellowship to help support woman-identifying creatives over 40+ working in the horror genre. Mo has also been awarded a slot in the prestigious Black Women in Horror Class of 2023, and can be found in the collection, "160 Black Women in Horror" by Sumiko Saulson, Kenya Moss-Dyme, and Kai Leakes

    Still engaging with her first love, short horror literature, her work can be found in "A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales", by Brigid's Gate Press, and "206 Word Stories" by Bag O' Bones Press. Her debut novella, "Love the Sinner" will be released on July 5th through Brigid’s Gate Press and her following titles, "Clairviolence: Tales of Tarot and Torment Volumes 1 & 2 will be released in 2024 through Spooky House Press.

Panel B: Intersectional

Identities on Film

We talk about women on film, we talk about race on film, we talk about sexuality and gender on film, but we rarely talk about how multiple identities interact within horror representation. This panel will address this need, and go beyond discussion of one specific identity, to talk about how intersectionality plays out on film. Moderated by Rabia Sitabi.

  • Rabia is a well-seasoned pop culture specialist and a multi-disciplinary marketing professional. Born in Europe, with Asian and African roots, she comes from a very involved and diverse household. She is outspoken on issues that pertain to her identity as a queer, disabled woman of color, and brings a unique perspective to how she consumes media and culture. Rabia started her career in marketing and technology on behalf of social justice issues when she was only 15 years old. Her interest and expertise grew as she created new systems for the local government in the Netherlands to reaching out more effectively to minorities and youth through JAA (Youth Active for Amsterdam), an advisory council for the Mayor. Ever since, she’s been working and growing in different industries using her agile thinking to switch between them. Rabia has been a beta tester/early adopter for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and more. She curates startups and new tech for well-known platforms as well as advising tech startups on business development. As the founder of Culture Agency, she helps young POC women by training them and introducing them to the marketing industry, with an emphasis on using and implementing new tech in sustainable ways. She has experience working in a variety of areas, from government, to fashion, to fine arts, radio, cinema, cultural organizations, international embassies, non-profits, and technology. Under the brand Cultured Curator, she has hosted a variety of conversations with important cultural figures from around the world on radio, television, and various social media platforms.

  • "Nasreen is an award winning filmmaker whose work illuminates historically excluded voices. Her ability to motivate audiences is a direct result of approaching story through multiple identities: Multi-heritage, Black, Iraqi, 1st gen, Muslim, LGBTQ, including being a person with multiple Disabilities, neurodivergent + chronic pain.

    Her films have been featured by Apple+, FX Networks, and Oprah's EMMY winning series Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. Her directing credits include NASA, Kamala Harris, UN Women, Microsoft, the Women’s March, and Remedy Health Media. She Executive Produced East of the River that screened the Tribeca Film Festival, and directed campaigns for NASA and the Women’s March, with an emphasis on LGBTQIA+, Disabled, and BIPOC voices.

    Nasreen was honored with the Wild Card award by her NASA peers, a fellow of Sundance’s Accessible Futures Intensive, a fellow of The Disruptors, an alumni of the RespectAbility Lab, a fellow of the WIF Creative Circle, and a fellow of the Ford Foundation’s Disability Futures, Forbes described her as “breaking barriers.”

    Nasreen has helped lead the 2022 RespectAbility LAB, dedicated to introducing twenty Disabled writers, and directors to studios like Disney, Sony, Lionsgate, DreamWorks and Warner Brothers.

  • If you’ve met Mattie Do, she’s shown you photos of her dogs. If you’ve seen her movies, then you’ve seen her dogs act. Over the years, Mattie’s dogs have starred in a few good ghost stories that have screened at Venice’s Giornate degli Autori, Fantastic Fest, Sitges, Toronto, and Busan; headlined project markets including Frontières’ selection for IFFAM’s inaugural Crouching Tigers; and garnered recognition as Laos’ first submission to the 90th Academy Awards. Mattie’s dogs live in Vientiane where they’re helping her develop the country’s film industry. Mattie also has two cats, but the little beasts refuse to take direction.

  • Lakkaya Palmer is currently a PhD student at University College London. Her research is titled "Ferocious Fatherhood: A Crisis of Masculinity and Fatherhood 1970-1991". She also is a contributor to Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club.

  • An acclaimed Hip Hop artist and film critic hailing from the DMV area, PHZ-Sicks (pronounced physics) is fueled by a passion for cinema and the art of storytelling. With his love of horror, PHZ-Sicks weaves movie references and the horror of US history into his music, notably exemplified in his haunting track, ""Daniel Robitaille"", available on all streaming platforms.

    Possessing a wealth of knowledge in pop culture and sociology within the Black community, PHZ-Sicks offers a fresh and insightful perspective in film discourse, having made guest appearances on various esteemed podcasts including One Of Us, Double Toasted, Ride the Omnibus, and In The Mouth of Dorkness.

    Currently, PHZ-Sicks is engrossed in the production of his latest album, Good Day, Greater Tomorrow, alongside providing weekly film reviews on his TikTok.

Panel C: Mental Health & Horror

Presented by Ghouls Magazine

Our mental health is affected by past events, what we experience in the present and the thought of what might occur in the future. The medium of horror can act as a mirror of identification and assist in helping us to process this. Moderated by Rebecca McCallum.

  • Rebecca is the creator and host of Talking Hitchcock- a podcast exploring the world and the work of her favourite director, she is Assistant Editor at Ghouls Magazine and Senior Contributor at Moving Pictures Film Club where she has an ongoing collection of essays entitled Hitchcock's Women. She has work in print with Hear Us Scream, Movie Jawn and Grim Journal and bylines online with Fangoria, Second Sight, Rue Morgue and Dread Central.

  • Jenn is a writer and podcaster from Nashville, TN. She co-hosts both The Loser’s Club: A Stephen King Podcast taking frequent deep dives into the work and adaptations of her favorite author and The Girls On the Boys, a podcast dedicated to analyzing the Amazon Prime Series The Boys and masculinity in the action/horror genre. Jenn is a contributor and columnist for /film, Bloody Disgusting, Rue Morgue Online, Dread Central, and Ghouls Magazine. She is the creator and author of the Strong Female Antagonist blog and will gladly talk your ear off about final girls, feminism, and Stephen King.

  • Hailing from the dark and creepy catacombs of Ireland, Ygraine is the host of the horror movie podcast What A Scream, as well as co-host of Movies, Murder & Mayhem: the true stories behind horror movies. Senior contributor at both Moving Pictures Film Club and Ghouls Magazine as well as bylines with Fangoria, Dread Central, Film In Dublin: PDF and BFI Online, Ygraine is a pinup ghoul with special interests in Motherhood in horror, Possession and Irish horror. When she's not obsessively rewatching The Exorcist for the billionth time or attempting to conjure the forces of darkness, she is raising her own little monster!

  • Zoë Rose Smith is a freelance journalist who also goes under the name Zobo With A Shotgun. Her speciality in all things extreme, with a penchant for nasty, gory & controversial horror films and books. She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Ghouls Magazine, the co-host of Our Bloody Obsession podcast and has been featured in places such as FANGORIA, Arrow, Unearthed Films, Second Sight, 88 Films, Tetrovideo, Daily Grindhouse and Scream Horror Magazine.

Panel D: Festival Programming &

Critical Perspectives

In programming teams and societies of film critics, disability is rarely represented. How then, do we make sure that films that represent the "crip lens" are made accessible to audiences? Without industry buy-in or champions on the festival circuit, many films remain unseen. In this panel, we discuss how critics and programmers outside the Disability community can ensure good representation and equitable, accessible, and strong festival experiences for all. Moderated by Ophira Calof.

  • "Ophira Calof is a multi-award winning disabled writer, performer and consultant who works to “crip the script,” centring disability knowledge and experience. Their credits include PUSH (CBC), Kids In The Hall (Amazon Prime), sketch comedy revue Generally Hospital (Canadian Comedy Award Nominee) and their solo show Literally Titanium, which has been featured in both academic and performance spaces as a case study in accessible production.

    Ophira is the creative director for the Accessible Writers’ Lab, a national initiative presented by AMI, RAFFTO and sponsored by the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm, to experiment with what an accessible tv writers’ room might involve. Ophira was also the accessibility process lead for AccessCBC, and the curatorial committee lead for the 2022 ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto. They have taught workshops internationally on storytelling, writing, music, accessibility and disability narratives, and created a number of disability arts projects including the series Making Space: Stories of Disabled Youth Past and Present (Myseum Toronto/RAFFTO) and Dis/Play, a public arts project that projected the stories of over 50 Deaf and Disabled creatives onto exterior building walls across the city (MNJCC/RAFFTO/ArtWorxTO: Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021-2022)."

  • Anton is a freelance film critic specialising in horror and genre cinema. When he is not writing for his own site ProjectedFigures.com, he has regular bylines in Sight & Sound, the BFI, Little White Lies, SciFiLondon, and VODzilla.co, and has contributed many booklet essays and video essays to home releases from Arrow Video, Second Sight, Yellow Veil Pictures, Eureka! and Radiance. He programmes the Cinema Now strand of the London Korean Film Festival, and is a member of the Online Film Critics Society and the London Film Critics’ Circle. For his day job, he teaches the syntax of dead languages to undergraduates.

  • Lisa Dreyer is the Director of Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the US, powered by the Alamo Drafthouse. In addition to helping bring the best films from around the world to Fantastic Fest every September, she also works in acquisitions for Drafthouse Films. She has programmed for a variety of festivals, including the Oak Cliff Film Festival and Contrast Film Festival, and previously worked for the Austin Film Society. She is passionate about supporting radical new voices and boundary-pushing projects, the weirder and wilder the better!

  • Eric Hatch is a film programmer, critic, and distributor living in Baltimore, Maryland. He worked for Maryland Film Festival from 2007-2018, serving as director of programming from 2010-2018; he has also programmed for True/False and Oak Cliff film festivals. He currently co-owns Beyond Video, Baltimore's non-profit video-rental library (with 30,000+ titles on DVD, blu-ray, and VHS). He is also the co-founder and director of programming for New/Next Film Festival, taking place August 18-20, 2023 at Baltimore's Charles Theatre. His writing has appeared in Filmmaker, MUBI Notebook, and Baltimore City Paper (R.I.P.).

  • Juliet Romeo is an award-winning filmmaker who has written and directed many short films across multiple film genres. Her most recent work includes the horror movie Cooptation, about two best friends trying to escape society's toxic beauty standards. The film was a top ten finalist in the 2021 Women of Color 48 Hour Film Challenge, Los Angeles screening, and streamed on the Shutter platform. Juliet's unique vision as a filmmaker has earned her a number of awards and accolades. Her work is known for its blend of artistic expression, social commentary, and compelling narrative. Juliet is also the Founder of Slamdance Film Festival's Unstoppable program, which advocates for disability inclusion, diverse representation in cinema, and greater recognition of disabled filmmakers. Juliet lives in Miami and is a Communications Apprentice for RespectAbility's Spring 2023 National Leadership program. She is currently working on a feature-length horror film that promises to be even more suspenseful and thrilling than Cooptation.

  • Alison Taylor teaches film studies and ethics at Bond University, Australia. She is the author of the Devil’s Advocates monograph on Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession (LUP 2022) and Troubled Everyday: The Aesthetics of Violence and the Everyday in European Art Cinema (EUP 2017). She is currently co-writing a book on the work of Nicolas Winding Refn for SUNY’s Horizons of Cinema series.

Panel E: Gatekeeping In Horror

The Horror Community is increasingly difficult to define, with numerous subgenres and movements attracting very different fanbases. With so many gates to open, who has the keys? Moderated by Ariel Baska.

  • Ariel Baska is a multiply Disabled queer horror and documentary filmmaker who believes in advocacy and accessibility for marginalized communities. She wrote and directed the horror short, Our First Priority, about medical gaslighting, which won the BAFTA-qualifying Advocacy Award from Superfest Disability Film Festival. As a producer, she works in both narrative and documentary, with numerous projects on the festival circuit. She was a speaker at SXSW in 2022 and 2023, and is a fellow of the PAM CUT Sustainability Lab, endowed by the NEA for interdisciplinary artists, and also a fellow of the RespectAbility Entertainment Lab.

    She is a podcaster, non-profit owner, and internationally-published writer who curates creative spaces for disabled filmmakers. Her work can be seen on Ride the Omnibus, her podcast and non-profit parked at the intersection of pop culture and social justice.

  • Brea Grant is an award-winning filmmaker, comic book writer, and actor. She most recently directed the horror thriller TORN HEARTS for Blumhouse/Epix/Paramount starring Katey Sagal. She also wrote/directed 12 HOUR SHIFT (Tribeca 2020, winner of Best Screenplay at Fantasia 2020) starring Angela Bettis and David Arquette. The same year, she wrote/starred in the film LUCKY (SXSW 2020). She has also written/directed for Netflix and the CW and recently wrote/directed on the upcoming series UNCONVENTIONAL. She has written four comic series including the recent, MARY. She co-hosts a book podcast called Reading Glasses.

  • Addison Heimann is a queer genre filmmaker currently residing in Los Angeles. His first feature Hypochondriac premiered at SXSW and was distributed by XYZ this year. His goal is to tell queer stories that explore mental health in the genre space.

  • Rabia is a well-seasoned pop culture specialist and a multi-disciplinary marketing professional. Born in Europe, with Asian and African roots, she comes from a very involved and diverse household. She is outspoken on issues that pertain to her identity as a queer, disabled woman of color, and brings a unique perspective to how she consumes media and culture.

    Rabia started her career in marketing and technology on behalf of social justice issues when she was only 15 years old. Her interest and expertise grew as she created new systems for the local government in the Netherlands to reaching out more effectively to minorities and youth through JAA (Youth Active for Amsterdam), an advisory council for the Mayor. Ever since, she’s been working and growing in different industries using her agile thinking to switch between them.

    Rabia has been a beta tester/early adopter for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and more. She curates startups and new tech for well-known platforms as well as advising tech startups on business development.

    As the founder of Culture Agency, she helps young POC women by training them and introducing them to the marketing industry, with an emphasis on using and implementing new tech in sustainable ways. She has experience working in a variety of areas, from government, to fashion, to fine arts, radio, cinema, cultural organizations, international embassies, non-profits, and technology.

    Under the brand Cultured Curator, she has hosted a variety of conversations with important cultural figures from around the world on radio, television, and various social media platforms.

  • Isabella Vargas is a multimedia filmmaker and artist who works at the intersection of media and activism. She is interested in writing and directing character driven and magical realist works in order to rewrite narratives about her intersectional communities. Vargas questions the marginalization of people and their relationship with disability, ethnic identity, queerness, and their ties to intergenerational trauma Vargas is a current BRIClab fellow, a future MDOCS recipient, and a future Emerge Fellow with the San Francisco Longmore Institute. Vargas was also a previous UnionDocs fellow where her work previously centered on creating video content for local NYC community organizations. Outside of her film work, Vargas is an active member of the artist collective The Illuminator where her media work focuses on amplifying national organizations and their messages.

    She is an engaged disability activist and passionate community organizer, being a previous labor organizer and immigrant rights activist, outside of her artistic work. Her on-the-ground advocacy experience plays an integral part of her creative process and constant inspiration.