Acsexybility
Acsexybility is a documentary that tells stories about the sexuality of people with disabilities. Through the characters' conversation with the director, the film talks about flirting, kissing, dating, masturbation, ableism and, of course, sex. Its greatest strength is precisely hearing from people with disabilities things that society does not expect them to say and do. We want to change the idea that they are asexual, angelic, special and even devoid of desires. We fuck and we fuck well, they say.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Daniel Gonçalves
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Acsexybility was made because I wanna say that people with disabilities have sex like any other people. The greatest strength of the project is precisely to hear from people with disabilities themselves things that society does not expect them to say and do. I want to break the idea that they are asexual, angelic, special beings, devoid of desires. We do fuck and do it well, they say.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Located at the intersection of disability and queerness, this documentary enriches, implicates, and breaks open the conversation around sexual life in the disabled community. This film does not shy away from the complexities and challenges of queer life, but rather embraces them and in doing so, illuminates how they impact one another and bring new dimensionality to the position of the body within them. Resisting a normative lens, this filmmaker uses the observational power of the camera to document the raw sexuality, fantasies, and erotic expressions of a wide array of subjects with rare candor and vulnerability. Embodied sexual explorations are balanced against interviews that in their frankness and insightfulness criticize and deepen the lacking conversation around this intersection in the wider discourse.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The universal theme of Acsexybility is the sexuality of PWD. Departing from it, the speeches of each one of the 15 interviewees are connected to the main theme but they do not have a direct connection between them.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The idea of Acsexybility came up during the editing of my first feature, the documentary My Name is Daniel. Since then, our biggest challenge has been to find people with different kinds of disabilities, sexual orientations and gender identities to talk to us. We've recorded 26 interviews and 15 of them are in the movie. During the development, we also had the desire to shoot some performances to show these out-of-standard bodies in a beautiful way.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Our World Premiere was at OutFest Los Angeles and after the screening, many people came to me to say that they'd left the theater with their minds blown.
At Letterboxd: Fabulously well-done exploration of sexuality and disability that really does push boundaries.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
No. The feedback we have received was the kind we were expecting.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I want to spread the message of the film and find some funders or supporters for the impact campaign we've developed during the Good Pitch Brasil 2022.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Film festival directors, buyers, journalists and impact campaign partners, funders and supporters.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Copying some comments from Letterboxd:
Seeing a film that manages to cross gender and disability on screen without making our bodies look like poor things, I found it fascinating.
Seeing myself on screen as a human person was something that brought me comfort, relief, discomfort and euphoria
It's not a film about disability. It's a film about desire: about perceiving a desired and desirable body, no matter how much the standards say otherwise. About how being human means wanting, and this power faces (but does not always overcome) any obstacle. And here comes the political side: denying someone the status of desirer is denying their humanity.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Have you ever dated or had sex with a disabled person? If no, why not?
Interview: October 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Acsexybility
Acsexybility is a documentary that tells stories about the sexuality of people with disabilities. Through the characters' conversation with the director, the film talks about flirting, kissing, dating, masturbation, ableism and, of course, sex. Its greatest strength is precisely hearing from people with disabilities things that society does not expect them to say and do. We want to change the idea that they are asexual, angelic, special and even devoid of desires. We fuck and we fuck well, they say.
Length: 1:26:46
Director: Daniel Gonçalves
Producer: Daniel Gonçalves
Writer: Daniel Gonçalves
About the writer, director and producer:
DANIEL GONÇALVES has directed the documentaries Got any Es? - 2008; Guide Light - 2012; How it would be? - 2014; and Along the road - 2015. My name is Daniel, his first feature, was screened in up to 20 festivals like: IDFA, Rio IFF, SP IFF, Sydney FF, FICCI and Mostra de Tiradentes.
Looking for: film festival directors, buyers
Instagram: @assexybilidade
Funders: Globo Filmes, Globo News; Globoplay, RioFilme, FSA and Fundação CSN
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
NewFest: Oct 14, 6PM, New York City
DocSP: Oct 27, 7:30PM, São Paulo
Mix Brasil: Nov 9-18, São Paulo