About
I believe in advocacy and accessibility for marginalized communities, whether I’m directing movies, writing textbooks, or programming for festivals. Every person deserves to see themselves.
Ariel Baska is a multiple award-winning, multiply Disabled Queer horror and documentary filmmaker, who believes in advocacy and accessibility for historically underserved communities. Their work has played on Alaska Airlines, at the Portland Art Museum, and at film festivals from Berlin to Mexico City to Mumbai. They have presented with National Geographic, Lincoln Center, the Berlinale, and the Toronto International Film Festival on various topics in disability and accessibility in the film and television industry. They are the creator of ACCESS:HORROR, a film festival and summit celebrating disability and horror, recently named one of the top five most accessible film festivals in Forbes.
Regardless of what story they’re telling or what work they’re doing, they care passionately about the margins.
Media Kit
Permission is granted to freely use the following bios and photographs for promotional or press purposes.
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200 Word Bio
Ariel Baska is a multi-award-winning, multiply Disabled filmmaker, festival director, and speaker on advocacy and accessibility in film, particularly for underserved communities. In their directorial debut, Our First Priority (2022), they sent a doctor to hell for telling a patient it's all in her head. The film traveled from Berlin to Mumbai to Mexico, won the Advocacy Award from Superfest Disability Film Festival, and was distributed by Alaska Airlines and Disability Media Network. They continue to write, direct, and produce horror and documentary while centering authenticity and accountability.
Ariel created Access:Horror, a film festival and industry summit celebrating the history, future, and impact of disability in the genre space. Access:Horror was recently recognized as one of the top 5 most accessible festivals in the world in Forbes.
Ariel advocates through film, but also international speaking engagements, from National Geographic, to Lincoln Center, to the Berlinale, talking about disability and access in the film industry.
Their current work in progress, Monstrous Me, is a horror memoir and documentary feature that has won grants from Southern Documentary Fund and Virginia Humanities.
Regardless of what story they're telling or what work they're doing, they care passionately about the margins.
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150 Word Bio
Ariel Baska is a multi-award-winning, multiply Disabled filmmaker, festival director, and speaker on advocacy and accessibility in film, particularly for underserved communities. In their directorial debut, Our First Priority (2022), they sent a doctor to hell for telling a patient it's all in her head. The film traveled the world, won the Advocacy Award from Superfest Disability Film Festival, and was distributed by Alaska Airlines and Disability Media Network. Today, they write, direct, and produce horror and documentary while centering authenticity and accountability.
Ariel created Access:Horror, a film festival and industry summit celebrating the history, future, and impact of disability in the genre space. Access:Horror was recently recognized as one of the top 5 most accessible festivals in the world in Forbes.
Ariel advocates through film, but also speaking engagements, from National Geographic, to Lincoln Center, to the Berlinale, talking about disability and access in the film industry.
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100 Word Bio
Ariel Baska is a multi-award-winning, multiply Disabled filmmaker, festival director, and speaker on advocacy and accessibility in film. They write, direct, and produce horror and documentary while centering authenticity and accountability.
Ariel created Access:Horror, a film festival and industry summit designed to celebrate disability in the genre space. Access:Horror was recently recognized as one of the top 5 most accessible festivals in the world by Forbes.
Ariel’s acclaimed speaking engagements include National Geographic, Lincoln Center, Toronto International Film Festival, and the Berlinale, where they have shared their expertise on disability representation, changing narratives, and improving access.