I Am Able

Film Screenings

Fixed: The Science / Fiction of Human Enhancement

I Am Able Abstract: After surviving the genocide in Rwanda, Frederick Ndabaramiye was the victim of a brutal retribution attack. Left for dead in the jungle, he was found by two girls who took him to the hospital. His miraculous survival was just the beginning. Frederick slowly learned to live again, re-honing his motor skills through painting. After years of recovery, uses his story to empower others going through similar struggles. Through painting, cycling, and storytelling, Frederick now seeks to change people's preconceptions of what it means to be 'able' by encouraging us to focus not on perceived “disabilities” but on the grit that each of us have.

Fixed Abstract: What does "disabled" mean when a man with no legs can run faster than most people in the world? What does "normal" mean when cosmetic surgery procedures have risen over 450% percent in the last fifteen years and increasing numbers of people turn to "smart drugs" every day to get ahead at school or work? With prenatal screening able to predict hundreds of probable conditions, who should determine what kind of people get to be born? If you could augment your body's abilities in any way imaginable, would you?

From bionic limbs and neural implants to prenatal screening, researchers from around the world are hard at work developing a myriad of technologies to fix or enhance the human body. Fixed: The Science / Fiction of Human Enhancement takes a close look at the drive to be “better than human” and the radical technological innovations that may take us there.

Through a dynamic mix of verité, dance, archival, and interview footage, Fixed challenges notions of normal, the body, and what it means fundamentally to be human in the 21st century.

Biosketch of Fixed's Fernanda Castelo: Fernanda Castelo, as a "test pilot", helped Ekso Bionics refine their design for the "Ekso", an exoskeleton which allows individuals with limited to no mobility in their legs to walk again. Fernanda worked closely with their engineers, and clinical physical therapists giving critical feedback from a user's perspective. A dancer at Disneyland in her youth, after an accident 20 years ago, she has since consulted with multiple design teams on the development of new technologies for people with mobility impairments. From the new WHILL, providing mobility, independence and style for everyone to Ekso to Stanford's Mechanical Engineering Perspectives in Assistive Technology class mentoring with future engineers, Fernanda educates about the importance of an organic, body/user-centered approach to design and how essential it is to involve people with disabilities at every stage of development. She is also an avid sailor and very active with BAADS (Bay Area Association for Disabled Sailors). Setting her eyes on the prize and claiming 1st Place at the 2013 North American Access Championship on San Francisco Bay.

• Thursday, March 3rd - Wheelchair Fabrication in Developing Countries
• Tuesday, March 8th - Student Team Project Final Presentations
• Thursday, March 10th - Project Demonstrations, Course Evaluation, and Celebration