ReelAbilities Film Festival Columbus: Spectrum Shorts
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Join Art Possible Ohio and The Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center for an evening of shorts for our October screening of the ReelAbilities Film Festival Columbus. Spectrum Shorts is a collection of shorts about different aspects of autism. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the curator, Tristan Turner.
Doors open at 6:30 PM, films will begin at 7:00 PM.
Shorts: Boys; Key of Genius; Bubble Boy; Once More, Like Rain Man; Hole; Late Diagnosed; Act Natureal
Cost: Free and open to the public. To register visit our Humanitix here. Registration is requested for this event due to limited seating at the venue.
When: October 8, 2026 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Where: Sullivant Hall, The Ohio State University
139 West Main Street, Columbus, OH 43215
Schedule of events: 6:30 PM: Doors open
7:00 PM: Films begin
8:00 PM: Discussion with curator, Tristan Turner
Access: Open captions and assistive listening will be available. Ramps are on the east side of the building.
For additional access requests, please email [email protected] at least 2 weeks before the event.
Parking: Metered street parking is available on Main St, Noble St, and on Civic Center Dr through the ParkMobile app.
Film Descriptions:
Boys
Dir. Olive Bilic
Overwhelmed by the chaos of class, neurodiverse teenager Jacob seeks refuge in an empty locker room, only to find himself facing an unexpected confrontation.
Key of Genius
Dir Daniel Persitz
Key of Genius tells the extraordinary true story of Derek Paravicini, a blind, autistic musical savant, and Adam Ockelford, a piano teacher determined to unlock his genius. Set in 1980s London, the film unfolds over a series of transformative piano lessons.
When Adam meets young Derek and his supportive mother, Mary Ann, he quickly realizes traditional teaching methods won’t work. Through patience, innovation and a shared love for music, Adam discovers unconventional ways to connect with Derek, in turn learning to experience the world through the boy’s unique perspective.
The film explores themes of perseverance, breaking barriers and finding a universal language through music. Based on the acclaimed biography of the same name, Key of Genius celebrates an inspirational bond between a remarkable student and teacher.
Bubble Boy
Dir. Cameron Carr
A non-verbal autistic boy with a deep desire to communicate creates a world through drawing. Based on a true story.
Once More, Like Rain Man
Dir. Sue Ann Pien
Zoe, an autistic teen actor, sits through yet another audition where the adults behind the table label her “the autistic one,” joke that she “doesn’t look autistic,” and ask if she has an “autism super power” — you know, “like Rain Man.” Her dad Gerry, a struggling screenwriter trying to keep them both afloat, hustles her from room to room while she’s forced into role after role that reduces her to a checkbox. When Zoe overhears that her mom plans to move her in to increase her payments for having a “disabled kid” at home, the day turns into a battle for control of her own life—not just a booking. At a crowded final call, a casting assistant says the quiet part out loud: they want the character to be “more autistic,” and Zoe has to decide whether to perform a stereotype or tell the truth. What follows is sharp, funny, and cathartic—building to the inevitable when they ask her to do it “once more… like Rain Man.”
Hole
Dir. Gil Goletski
Mo is an adult with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Today, a hole started following them
Late Diagnosed
Dir. Matt Baltar
Matt often didn’t recognize himself in photos and never really understood why—until one day his loss of hearing helped him see more clearly. This short film breaks down what living with auditory processing disorder can feel like, as well as the complicated feelings that come with this and other diagnoses.
Act Natural
Dir. Luca Fox
Act Natural is a short film that seeks to exhibit the inner battle that occurs within people with high- functioning autism as they engage in everyday conversation.
About the Curator: Tristan Turner is an experimental filmmaker and mixed media artist from Asheville, NC. His work aims to combine the aesthetics of the past and present to interrogate medium specificity, new limits, and personal expression. Tristan is fond of both digital and analog imagery. Often in his work, he blends the two until they merge into something both familiar and alien. Community, poetry, collaboration, diaristic narratives, mixed media, abstraction, and visual experimentation are core values in his work. Philosophically, Tristan believes that cinema is the most boundless platform of human expression. Everything is cinema.
Questions? Contact Nikki Swift at [email protected] or call 380.799(MAKE)
Event Image Description: Poster for screening of Spectrum Shorts with the Cultural Arts Center on October 8, 2026 from 7:00-9:00PM. FREE Screening and a discussion after the film! At the Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center, 139 West Main Street , Columbus, Ohio. Sponsored by Art Possible Ohio, Ohio Arts Council, GCAC, Harry C. Moores, The Columbus Foundation. In partnership with the Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center.
Doors open at 6:30 PM, films will begin at 7:00 PM.
Shorts: Boys; Key of Genius; Bubble Boy; Once More, Like Rain Man; Hole; Late Diagnosed; Act Natureal
Cost: Free and open to the public. To register visit our Humanitix here. Registration is requested for this event due to limited seating at the venue.
When: October 8, 2026 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Where: Sullivant Hall, The Ohio State University
139 West Main Street, Columbus, OH 43215
Schedule of events: 6:30 PM: Doors open
7:00 PM: Films begin
8:00 PM: Discussion with curator, Tristan Turner
Access: Open captions and assistive listening will be available. Ramps are on the east side of the building.
For additional access requests, please email [email protected] at least 2 weeks before the event.
Parking: Metered street parking is available on Main St, Noble St, and on Civic Center Dr through the ParkMobile app.
Film Descriptions:
Boys
Dir. Olive Bilic
Overwhelmed by the chaos of class, neurodiverse teenager Jacob seeks refuge in an empty locker room, only to find himself facing an unexpected confrontation.
Key of Genius
Dir Daniel Persitz
Key of Genius tells the extraordinary true story of Derek Paravicini, a blind, autistic musical savant, and Adam Ockelford, a piano teacher determined to unlock his genius. Set in 1980s London, the film unfolds over a series of transformative piano lessons.
When Adam meets young Derek and his supportive mother, Mary Ann, he quickly realizes traditional teaching methods won’t work. Through patience, innovation and a shared love for music, Adam discovers unconventional ways to connect with Derek, in turn learning to experience the world through the boy’s unique perspective.
The film explores themes of perseverance, breaking barriers and finding a universal language through music. Based on the acclaimed biography of the same name, Key of Genius celebrates an inspirational bond between a remarkable student and teacher.
Bubble Boy
Dir. Cameron Carr
A non-verbal autistic boy with a deep desire to communicate creates a world through drawing. Based on a true story.
Once More, Like Rain Man
Dir. Sue Ann Pien
Zoe, an autistic teen actor, sits through yet another audition where the adults behind the table label her “the autistic one,” joke that she “doesn’t look autistic,” and ask if she has an “autism super power” — you know, “like Rain Man.” Her dad Gerry, a struggling screenwriter trying to keep them both afloat, hustles her from room to room while she’s forced into role after role that reduces her to a checkbox. When Zoe overhears that her mom plans to move her in to increase her payments for having a “disabled kid” at home, the day turns into a battle for control of her own life—not just a booking. At a crowded final call, a casting assistant says the quiet part out loud: they want the character to be “more autistic,” and Zoe has to decide whether to perform a stereotype or tell the truth. What follows is sharp, funny, and cathartic—building to the inevitable when they ask her to do it “once more… like Rain Man.”
Hole
Dir. Gil Goletski
Mo is an adult with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Today, a hole started following them
Late Diagnosed
Dir. Matt Baltar
Matt often didn’t recognize himself in photos and never really understood why—until one day his loss of hearing helped him see more clearly. This short film breaks down what living with auditory processing disorder can feel like, as well as the complicated feelings that come with this and other diagnoses.
Act Natural
Dir. Luca Fox
Act Natural is a short film that seeks to exhibit the inner battle that occurs within people with high- functioning autism as they engage in everyday conversation.
About the Curator: Tristan Turner is an experimental filmmaker and mixed media artist from Asheville, NC. His work aims to combine the aesthetics of the past and present to interrogate medium specificity, new limits, and personal expression. Tristan is fond of both digital and analog imagery. Often in his work, he blends the two until they merge into something both familiar and alien. Community, poetry, collaboration, diaristic narratives, mixed media, abstraction, and visual experimentation are core values in his work. Philosophically, Tristan believes that cinema is the most boundless platform of human expression. Everything is cinema.
Questions? Contact Nikki Swift at [email protected] or call 380.799(MAKE)
Event Image Description: Poster for screening of Spectrum Shorts with the Cultural Arts Center on October 8, 2026 from 7:00-9:00PM. FREE Screening and a discussion after the film! At the Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center, 139 West Main Street , Columbus, Ohio. Sponsored by Art Possible Ohio, Ohio Arts Council, GCAC, Harry C. Moores, The Columbus Foundation. In partnership with the Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center.
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Where is it happening?
Priscilla R. Tyson Cultural Arts Center, Cultural Arts Center, 139 W Main St, Columbus, OH 43215, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherArt Possible Ohio