Documentaries about disability history, culture, and lived experience, plus feature films with authentic disability representation. This list centers disabled filmmakers and performers.
This list prioritizes films made by or significantly involving disabled people—as directors, writers, subjects, or performers. We note authentic casting (disabled actors playing disabled characters) and flag concerns about representation.
Legend:
Streaming availability changes frequently. Check JustWatch.com for current options.
Start here for foundational disability films.
✦ 🎬 Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (2020) – Directors Jim LeBrecht (disabled) and Nicole Newnham. Netflix. The essential disability rights documentary. Follows disabled teens at Camp Jened in the 1970s who became leaders of the disability rights movement, including the 504 sit-in. Executive produced by the Obamas. Oscar-nominated.
✦ When Billy Broke His Head... and Other Tales of Wonder (1994) – Billy Golfus (disabled director/subject). Groundbreaking documentary by a brain injury survivor exploring disability rights movement. Raw, political, foundational.
✦ Lives Worth Living (2011) – Eric Neudel. PBS documentary on the disability rights movement featuring key activists. Excellent historical overview.
✦ 🎭 CODA (2021) – Sian Heder. Apple TV+. Child of Deaf adults navigating hearing and Deaf worlds. Features Deaf actors Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, and Daniel Durant. Kotsur won Oscar for Best Supporting Actor—second Deaf actor to win after Matlin. Authentic ASL throughout.
✦ 🎭 Sound of Metal (2020) – Darius Marder. Amazon Prime. Drummer loses hearing and enters Deaf community. Riz Ahmed learned ASL for role; supporting cast includes Deaf actors. Nuanced portrayal of Deaf culture without "cure" narrative.
✦ 🎭 The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) – Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. Zack Gottsagen, an actor with Down syndrome, stars in this adventure film. Authentic casting, dignity-centered story.
✦ 🎬 Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (2020) – [See Essential Viewing]
✦ Lives Worth Living (2011) – [See Essential Viewing]
✦ When Billy Broke His Head (1994) – [See Essential Viewing]
The Disability Rights Movement (2015) – Overview documentary covering ADA passage and key moments.
Patient No More – Documentary about the 504 sit-in.
Deaf President Now (2018) – Documentary about the 1988 Gallaudet University protest.
The Kids of Widney High (2007) – Students with disabilities forming a rock band in Los Angeles.
🎬 Murderball (2005) – Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro. Oscar-nominated documentary following US wheelchair rugby team. Changed perceptions of disabled athletes. Raw, competitive, anti-inspirational.
Fixed: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement (2013) – Regan Brashear. Explores enhancement technologies through disability lens.
Unrest (2017) – Jennifer Brea (disabled director). Personal documentary about ME/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). Brea filmed from bed. Powerful advocacy tool.
Code of the Freaks (2020) – Disabled filmmakers analyze disability representation in Hollywood. Essential media literacy.
🎬 CinemAbility (2018) – Jenni Gold (disabled director). Documentary examining disability representation in film and TV.
Life, Animated (2016) – Roger Ross Williams. Oscar-nominated documentary about autistic young man who learned to communicate through Disney films. [Note: Some in autistic community have critiqued the framing]
🎬 Loving Lampposts (2010) – Todd Drezner. Father of autistic son explores neurodiversity movement vs. cure-focused approaches.
In a Different Key (2020) – Based on the book, explores autism history.
Through Deaf Eyes (2007) – PBS documentary on Deaf history and culture in America.
Deaf President Now (2018) – The 1988 Gallaudet protest.
See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary (2010) – Profiles of Deaf performers.
🌍 The Tribe (2014) – Ukrainian film performed entirely in sign language with no subtitles. Intense, controversial. 🌍
Vision Portraits (2019) – Rodney Evans (director losing vision). Four blind and visually impaired artists discuss creativity and perception.
Dark Light: The Art of Blind Photographers (2009) – Blind photographers and visual art.
Murderball (2005) – [See Disability Culture section]
Rolling (2007) – Gretchen Berland. Life as wheelchair user in LA.
Invitation to Dance (2014) – Integrated dance and disabled dancers.
🎬 Unrest (2017) – Jennifer Brea. [See Disability Culture section]
Forgotten Plague (2015) – ME/CFS documentary.
CRAZY (2021) – Mental health through patient perspectives.
Titticut Follies (1967) – Frederick Wiseman. Groundbreaking exposé of Bridgewater State Hospital. Landmark documentary about institutional abuse.
Monica & David (2009) – Couple with Down syndrome getting married.
Intelligent Lives (2018) – Dan Habib. Three young adults with intellectual disabilities navigating education, work, and relationships. Challenges assumptions about intelligence.
Titticut Follies (1967) – [See Psychiatric Disability section]
Unforgotten: Twenty-Five Years After Willowbrook (1996) – Follow-up on residents of notorious institution.
Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace (1972) – Geraldo Rivera's exposé that helped end institutional warehousing.
Sentenced to Life – Australia's institutional abuse history. 🌍
Murderball (2005) – [See Disability Culture section]
Rising Phoenix (2020) – Netflix documentary on Paralympic movement history and athletes.
The Last Goldfish (2017) – Australian Paralympic swimmer's story. 🌍
Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw (2015) – WNBA star's mental health journey.
🎬 CinemAbility (2018) – [See Disability Culture section]
Code of the Freaks (2020) – [See Disability Culture section]
Invitation to Dance (2014) – Integrated dance.
Vision Portraits (2019) – [See Blind & Low Vision section]
Including Samuel (2007) – Dan Habib. Inclusion in education and community.
🌍 How to Dance in Ohio (2015) – Autistic young adults preparing for prom. (US but good international distribution)
🌍 Notes on Blindness (2016) – UK. Based on theologian John Hull's audio diaries after losing sight. 🌍
🌍 Margarita with a Straw (2014) – India. Young woman with cerebral palsy exploring sexuality and identity. Directed by Shonali Bose. 🌍
🌍 The Specials (2019) – France. Documentary about organization supporting autistic adults. 🌍
🌍 Maudie (2016) – Canada/Ireland. Folk artist Maud Lewis, who had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Ethan Hawke, Sally Hawkins.
Films with disabled actors playing disabled characters.
✦ 🎭 CODA (2021) – [See Essential Viewing]
✦ 🎭 Sound of Metal (2020) – [See Essential Viewing]
✦ 🎭 The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) – [See Essential Viewing]
🎭 Children of a Lesser God (1986) – Marlee Matlin's Oscar-winning debut as Deaf woman. Groundbreaking at release, some dated elements.
🎭 Hush (2016) – Kate Siegel. Home invasion thriller with Deaf protagonist. Siegel is hearing but film features Deaf actors and some Deaf crew.
🎭 A Quiet Place (2018) – John Krasinski. Millicent Simmonds, a Deaf actress, plays deaf daughter. Sign language integral to plot.
🎭 Eternals (2021) – Marvel. Lauren Ridloff (Deaf actress) plays Makkari, a Deaf superhero.
🎭 Best Summer Ever (2020) – Musical with cast including actors with disabilities. Integration-focused production.
Important films in disability representation history—some with dated or problematic elements.
The Miracle Worker (1962) – Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke (who had bipolar disorder). Helen Keller's early life. Influential but note: Keller portrayed as blank slate rather than intelligent child.
Coming Home (1978) – Jon Voight as paralyzed Vietnam veteran. Important for era; note: non-disabled actor.
My Left Foot (1989) – Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown, artist with cerebral palsy. Oscar-winning performance; note: non-disabled actor in disabled role.
Born on the Fourth of July (1989) – Tom Cruise as paralyzed veteran Ron Kovic. Note: non-disabled actor.
Children of a Lesser God (1986) – [See Authentic Representation]
The Sessions (2012) – John Hawkes as Mark O'Brien, poet and journalist in iron lung. Helen Hunt Oscar-nominated. Based on true story; note: non-disabled lead actor.
Rust and Bone (2012) – Marion Cotillard as woman who loses legs. French film. Note: non-disabled actress, CGI legs.
🌍 Margarita with a Straw (2014) – [See International Documentaries]
Breathe (2017) – Andy Serkis directs; Andrew Garfield as Robin Cavendish, paralyzed by polio. Note: non-disabled actor.
🎭 The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) – [See Essential Viewing]
Pumpkin (2002) – Dark comedy about sorority girl falling for man with intellectual disability. [Note: Controversial representation]
The Upside (2017) – US remake of Intouchables. Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston. Note: Non-disabled actor in wheelchair.
🌍 The Intouchables (2011) – French comedy about quadriplegic man and caregiver. Enormous box office success. Note: Some critique as white savior/inspiration porn tropes despite disabled subject's endorsement. 🌍
🌍 The Intouchables (2011) – France. [See Comedies]
🌍 The Tribe (2014) – Ukraine. All sign language, no subtitles. 🌍
🌍 Margarita with a Straw (2014) – India. 🌍
🌍 Maudie (2016) – Canada/Ireland.
🌍 Capernaum (2018) – Lebanon. Features disabilities and marginalization. 🌍
🌍 Amour (2012) – Michael Haneke. Austria. Aging, disability, end of life. Palme d'Or winner. 🌍
🌍 37 Seconds (2019) – Japan. Woman with cerebral palsy exploring sexuality. Directed by Hikari. 🌍
These films are widely known but contain significant representation problems. Included for media literacy.
Million Dollar Baby (2004) – Clint Eastwood. [Warning: Portrays disability as fate worse than death, assisted suicide framing]
Me Before You (2016) – [Warning: Same issues as Million Dollar Baby. Widely protested by disability community]
The Upside / The Intouchables – [Note: Inspiration porn concerns, non-disabled lead actors]
Tropic Thunder (2008) – [Warning: "R-word" mockery, though film is satirizing Hollywood]
Wonder (2017) – [Note: Based on beloved book, but non-disabled actor under prosthetics. Community divided]
Music (2021) – Sia. [Warning: Widely condemned by autistic community for non-autistic actor, restraint scenes, lack of consultation]
🎬 Audible (2021) – Matt Ogens. Netflix. Oscar-nominated short about Maryland School for the Deaf football team.
The Silent Child (2017) – Oscar-winning short about deaf girl and her sign language tutor.
My Deaf Family – Various shorts on Deaf family life.
Feeling Through (2019) – First film to star DeafBlind actor (Robert Tarango).
Temple Grandin (2010) – HBO. Claire Danes as autistic scientist. Emmy-winning. Note: Non-autistic actress, but Grandin consulted closely.
The Miracle Worker (various versions) – Multiple TV adaptations of Helen Keller story.
Door to Door (2002) – William H. Macy as salesman with cerebral palsy. Emmy-winning. Note: Non-disabled actor.
Streaming availability changes frequently. These platforms often have disability content:
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This page centers disabled filmmakers and authentic disability representation. Films are included for education and media literacy, not endorsement of all content.
Last updated: December 2025