“Some of us roll, some of us hop, some of us dance and some of us just move through life,” says Janice Fialka, mother of Micah Fialka-Feldman, one of the subjects of the new film Intelligent Lives.
Directed by Dan Habib, the film follows three young adults in America with intellectual disabilities who challenge what it means to be intelligent as they navigate the education system and workforce.
The movie “shows three people who live their lives as full, not because of a label, but because of the support available to them,” Janice says. “That’s critically important to making sure people live lives of meaning.”
Micah, 34, is a Michigan native and a graduate of Berkley Schools, in the Oakland County public schools system. The film highlights his journey from attending Oakland University to now working as a teaching assistant at Syracuse University.
“I think from the movie, people can dream to go to college or work somewhere they want to,” he says. “The film can teach people with disabilities that they can become teachers and they can become what they would like to become.”
Intelligent Lives is screening locally in the fall of 2018 – in Howell on Oct. 6, Berkley on Oct. 7, Auburn Hills on Oct. 11 and Detroit on Oct. 18. Screenings in Berkley and Howell will feature a panel with members of the Fialka-Feldman family, and the Detroit screening will feature a conversation with Janice Fialka.
For more details on show times – or to find out how to access the film in the future, as well as more details, visit the Intelligent Lives film’s official website.
