Latest / Shawna and LaLa: Life Beyond The Mic / Back to School, ReelAbilities & Real Talk

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Back to School, ReelAbilities & Real Talk · Shawna and LaLa: Life Beyond The Mic

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up? You're listening to Shauna and Lala. Check us
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: out at shaunainlala.com. On all social media platforms at shaunainlala.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: You could follow me on Instagram at therealshaunamay.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: And check me out at bella _ _ lala125.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: We missed you guys last week. Gio ended up getting sick.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Like a half hour before we were going to record.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: I know. It was.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: I don't know what was going on, but he scared me.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: He called me or he texted me and said, Mommy,
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: I don't feel good. I feel like I'm going to
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: throw up. I'm dizzy. I feel like I have a fever.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: And then he doesn't respond. So he was home alone.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: He's old enough to be home alone. But when you
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: get that message and they don't respond and they don't
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: pick up the phone and they don't pick up the
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: phone and I'm screaming on the security cameras, the dogs
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: are barking, your brain instantly goes.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: To, What the hell is going on?
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Something happened. He passed out. Like I was thinking like
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: he passed out, hit his head, you know, choked, aspirated
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: on his, if he threw up, you know? And I'm,
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: so I, I, I just ran, I ran right out
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: of the house, rushed there. And he ended up calling
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: me and, uh, on the mid drive, I'd say. And
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: he's like, I'm sorry. I was in the bathroom. I
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: left my phone in the other room. I was like,
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: don't do that to me, please. So he's okay now,
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: but it was just like a little, I think he
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: swallowed some gross pond water and probably got some, I
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: don't want to call it parasite, but who knows, just
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: made him sick.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: And school is starting. So I just kept thinking school
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: is starting in two weeks. And you told me the
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: other day that it is starting next week.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: Next week. Yes, they're starting before Labor Day this year.
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: It's so annoying.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: So when we were in school, it was always like
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: the day after Labor Day.
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Why are they changing all this?
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: I have no idea. It's so stupid because, you know,
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: just give the kids that extra week. What is the problem?
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: They can start on the 8th. It's a Tuesday. And
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: then they have the four days, you know, of that week.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: But they get that extra week.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: .
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: .
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: Another break in February. I don't know if it's called
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: winter break or what, but we have Christmas break, and
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: then we have a week-long break in February now, and
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: then they have spring break. So they added another week
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: of vacation for the kids these past few years. So
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: I don't know if that's why they have to start earlier.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: And I feel like school ends later.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: I don't know why.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: When I was a kid, I always felt like we
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: got out mid-June, like the second week of June. Maybe
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: I'm wrong.
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: No, never?
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: No. We always got out like the 22nd, 23rd. But
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: now the kids are almost going to almost like July 28th, 29th. June.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they're almost, yeah. They're going to like the end
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: of the month. Yeah, so I guess in my head
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: I always thought it was like the 16th or 18th
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: of June that we got out. But now it's, yeah,
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: it's like the 28th, 29th, end of the month. So
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: I feel like they're losing a lot of their summer.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: And they're going to school earlier, leaving school, getting out
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: of school later. And summer flies by. It's crazy.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: Summer flew this year. I don't know if it is
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: because of the weather and the lack of actual summer weather.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: But if you really think about it, we have only
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: really had about maybe a month of nice summer weather.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: And the rest has been raining and not that warm.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: I mean... I found that it's been really warm. It
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: took a long time to get to being warm. And
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: then once it was warm in June, I know it
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: was so hot and dry over here. A lot of
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: my plants died in June. And then it got chilly,
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: a little chilly, but the rain, the rain has been nonstop.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: Which we needed rain, but now it's like, okay, I
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: think we're good. We have enough.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we're good for a few months. Yeah. We don't
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: need any more rain. Like I said, you know, on
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: the last show, I believe, 2-11 in Middletown was flooding
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: the last time I was on the road. And, yeah,
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: we've had enough rain.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're good.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: We don't need any more. And so school is starting
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: for Jelena, and she is not excited at all. No.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: I'm very worried. I think it's going to be really rough.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: I don't know how I'm going to handle that day
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: and how she's going to handle that day because once
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: I leave her, She's never been without me pretty much.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: She's almost five and she's never really been without me
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: other than with family here and there. But to go
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: never with strangers, never with strangers. So I think it's
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: going to be very hard for her. I remember I'm
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: still traumatized by my first day of pre-K. You remember that?
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: I remember it because it was traumatic. And they say
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: you remember traumatic experiences. And I remember that my mom
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: brought me there. I was excited for a second. And
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: then once they said, okay. you know, mommy's leaving. I
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: went berserk and I started hanging on my mom screaming
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: and crying and sobbing. And like, I just felt such
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: panic in my chest. And then the teachers had to
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: grab me and pull me off my mom. My mom
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: started crying and then I bit my teacher.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: It was an aid.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: I bit the teacher aid all right in her arms
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: so hard that I almost drew blood. And, uh, she
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: still was nice to me because she became my favorite
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: aid there. She like just took a liking to me
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: somehow after I bit her. So, but yeah, I still remember.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: I remember the panic feeling and so I didn't do good.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: So maybe my karma will be that my daughter is
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: going to be the same way. Hopefully she doesn't bite anyone.
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: But I don't know if I'm going to handle it
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: because I'm going to be the one that's going to
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: be like, no, no, okay, she's coming home. She's coming home.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: We're not doing this.
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: Goodbye.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: So I have to be strong too.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: Maybe I will go with you for the drop off.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: I will say, Lauren, she's going to be fine. I
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: think she's going to run in there and want to
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: play with all the kids.
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: I hope so.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: But if they start out with, okay, boys and girls,
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: go get your pond boots on or lake boots, whatever
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: they have.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: Your rain boots are going in the creek.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: I think she's going to flip.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're going to go play with mud.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: She doesn't like to get dirty. So I'm hoping that
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: they take it easy that first day. Let's play. Let's color.
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: Let's do all that. And then kind of warm her
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: into going outside and getting dirty. Because unfortunately, my child
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: did not take after me. And she's a pretty, pretty princess.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: And she doesn't like to get dirty. And this is,
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: like I think I explained to you guys, it's a
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: homeschool co-op that's out in the wilderness. It gets kids there.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: It gets kids from sitting in chairs. I don't even
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: know if they have chairs to sit in. It's just
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: like tables and they kneel and they can crawl around.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: It's just keeping them moving. They don't believe in like
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: eight hours of a child sitting at a desk, which
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: is great. You know, we shouldn't be. They shouldn't be.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: That's how school should be.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: They do a lot of lessons outside under the trees,
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: on a blanket, you know.
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: So.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: It's not up Jelena's alley. That would have been up
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: my alley as a kid because I was always in
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: the woods. But hopefully, maybe it'll change her. Maybe she'll
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: learn to love it.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: I doubt it. And the only reason I say that
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: is because you were showing her videos the other day
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: of it and pictures from the website and trying to
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: get her excited. And all she said to you was,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: But I can't wear my princess dress. Yeah.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: I want to wear my princess dress. It's like, oh,
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: you can't really wear it. I mean, hey, we can
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: make it work. Princess dress with rain boots. But I
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: don't want her to get picked on either. Like, who
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: is this pretty, pretty princess here that is too good
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: to get dirty?
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: I mean, you wear your sweatpants with high heels. So.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've done that before. You can make it work.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: I just.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: I can't wait to hear about her first day.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: Hopefully she wants to go back because it's going to
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: be very stressful on me.
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: Those.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: You know, if she doesn't. Gio, he was good the
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: first week of school. And in the second and third week, he...
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: Every morning, he sobbed. He didn't want to go. And
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: it was very... I remember how hard that was. But
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: I wasn't as worried because he was... if you remember
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: it was a short day, it was nine 30 to
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: 1230 or something like that. This is a full day
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: for her and she's never been without me. So it's
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: going to be hard for me, um, to like not,
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: my heart's going to break for her if, you know,
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: sitting there that long without me.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: Is Mike going with you to drop her off?
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he'll be there the first day. And then, um,
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: so he'll keep me, but he, he, he could be
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: worse than me because she's a daddy's girl. And, uh,
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: I can see his heartstrings being pulled. And he's going
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: to be like, nope, we're not doing this. You're homeschooling.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: She's staying home. So we'll see how we both handle it.
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: Maybe he won't. But he can be. He doesn't like
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: to see her cry. That's his little princess.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: Well, you did pay for it. So hopefully. you get
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: your money back.
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: I know, I know.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: Did you read the contract?
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so. I'll have to look at that
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: part again. Yeah. And this Friday I go to sit
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: there with her at the school. They don't want first
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: payment until after this Friday, like the payment. So I
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: think they know, hey, let's see if this is even okay.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: Or the parents, do they even like this? Because maybe
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: I get there and I'm like, whoa, this is not
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: for us, you know? They're going to take us on
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: a tour of the grounds. They have 300 acres, so
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: hopefully it's not all.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: This is somebody's house?
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: It's a co-op. It's 300 acres of property with classrooms or...
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: I don't know what to call them. I forget there's
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: a name for them that the kids learn in.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: And.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: There's a bunch of teachers, New York State certified, you know,
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: and that they went the opposite way of school districts.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: They wanted to get out of that. And they, you know,
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: feel that this is a better way to teach kids,
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: which I agree. I wish Gio didn't want to be
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: in the school system. But he's doing so well in,
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: you know, regular school. I'm not going to pull him. But,
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: you know, if I ever have another kid, definitely go
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: in the homeschool route too or this. So a touchy subject,
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: but I just wanted to get your opinion on it
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: because I know when you were born, like at what
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: stage you were born. They just passed the law in Massachusetts,
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: I believe, that people can have abortions up to the
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: day that you give birth, right? Like nine months?
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I saw that. And you were.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: Born at 21 weeks?
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: 23 weeks.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: Or 23 weeks, sorry.
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, 23 weeks, one pound, four and a half ounces. And...
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: I did see that. And I was furious. Yeah. Because
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: that was me. Like, that could have been me. And,
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: you know, yeah, I fought for my life. I had issues.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: I still do. But I'm here. I'm thriving. And I'm alive.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: And at 23 weeks, you could feel pain. You could
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: feel love. You could feel comfort. You were fed. You
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: were a little person.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah. And you're just killing a baby. Yeah. In my opinion.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: You know, whether the baby is still in you or not,
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's murder. I'm sorry. Yeah. That's how I feel.
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: If you don't want to have a baby, decide that
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: before it has a heartbeat.
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: And they're saying that it's very rare that this will happen.
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: But a lot of doctors that I've asked or read about,
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: all the doctors say, we really have never had to
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: see a woman that needed medical attention that they had
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: to kill a baby at nine months or something like that.
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: So they don't know what it's going to be for.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Somebody wrote on my Facebook page, because I did make
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: a post about this. You probably didn't see it.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: Somebody wrote, what if the mother or the baby are
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: at risk for dying? Okay. Take the chance. In my eyes.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: You know, okay, maybe the mom could die if, you know,
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: the baby was born. But isn't that what C-sections are for?
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: Well, that's what I want to know. That's what I
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: was trying to research. What is this going to be for?
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: You know, because, yes, I had complications. My friend had
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: complications having a C-section or giving birth, I should say.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: And she stopped breathing during labor. Now, they obviously, like
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: my husband would say, save my wife, not the baby.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: I would hope my husband would do that too for me.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: Not that I want my baby to die, but yes,
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: save me before that baby because I have little kids
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: at home that need their mommy. You know what I mean?
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: So in that case, I don't know. That's why I
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: need a doctor to tell me, like, when would this
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: need to happen? Because... She had to go in for
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: emergency C-section. She stopped breathing in labor.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: Your friend.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: My friend. And then they had to do an emergency
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: C-section on her to get the baby out. They didn't
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: just go, well, mom, stop breathing. Let's kill the baby.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: Let's stab the baby in the heart with a needle
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: to stop their heart. And that's what they do. They take,
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: I guess, the lethal injection that people give for the
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: death penalty. I think it's that. They take a big
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: needle and they shove it through your belly or wherever
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: and they get the baby's heart and kill it. And
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: then they pull it out limb by limb.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: So.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: They took her baby out C-section. If you're going to
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: pull it out anyway, because the baby can't stay in there.
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: This is where I get confused. The baby, someone said,
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: maybe someone can't have a C-section or someone can't give birth,
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: but the baby can't stay in there. It's not going
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: to dissolve in her stomach. They have to get it out.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: So either A, they're doing a C-section or they're making
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: her go into labor to push it out, a dead baby.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: So why not just have the baby come out alive
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: and give it away. That's where I'm confused. It's not
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: dissolving in her stomach and disappearing. We killed it and
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: now you don't have to give birth and you're safe. No,
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: she still has to give birth to the dead baby now.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: I guess I would need to talk to more doctors
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: and say, when is this necessary? Why would it be necessary?
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: Because nothing makes sense to me.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: It doesn't make sense and you know, Maybe we don't
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: know the full story because the media likes to not
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: tell the whole story.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they like to get you, rage bait you, you know,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: for different sides of the spectrum of it. Rage bait
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: you to get upset or before it and make you
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: feel bad or make you feel angry. So yeah, but
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: I just want to know because I know you're living
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: proof that even earlier than that, a baby is a person. Yes,
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: you needed life-saving stuff, but you still were grabbing your
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: mom's finger, and you still could feel.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Not really. My fingers don't move.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: Well, I should say you were moving your arms. I
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: know she has hand paralysis, but in the picture I saw,
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: your mom had her hand in your finger, you know?
• 16:12
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: Her hand in your hand. But what I'm getting at
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: is you're not just a blob. You're a baby. You
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: were a baby.
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: I don't know.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: I've obviously, I've never been pregnant, but when does a
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: baby get a heartbeat? 12 weeks?
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: I forget. I should know this, but it's pretty.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: Eight weeks.
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: Eight weeks. There's a heartbeat. And on the ultrasound, you
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: see the heartbeat and I could, they at nine weeks,
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: I was able to hear the heartbeat and they let
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: you hear it and you see it fluttering.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: So there you go. You have what? Less than eight
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: weeks to decide. Yeah.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: Eight weeks. And then it turns into a little fetus
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: and it's cute. It has the head and little arms.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: Looks like an alien. It looks like an alien.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: But it's alive.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: That's the whole point of it. And I always say,
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: I understand people wanting their own personal choices in life
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: with this. But don't claim that you're not killing something.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: I'd rather people just be honest and say, yeah, I'm
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: killing it. but I don't care, or that's what I choose.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: Instead of saying, I'm not killing anything. It's just a
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: clump of blob and cells, and I'm not killing anything.
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: No.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: Then I can't get on board with you. Just be honest.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean? And then I'll have a
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: little bit more respect for you being honest about it.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah. But on the show today, we have Isaac Zablocki,
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: and he is the CEO and co-founder of Real Abilities. Yes. Now,
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: you didn't go with me to the event.
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: No.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: It was in New York City, and it was at
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: the new college, I believe.
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: You were telling me that.
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: The new school.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: The new school.
• 18:03
  Speaker 5: That was opening night.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: We were at the new school. It was our largest
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: opening night ever. Sold out 500 people.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: It was packed.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you were telling me that.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: It was so much fun, though. We got to walk
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: around the red carpet and just network with everyone. And
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: it was a really good time. And I really cannot
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: wait for next year. You're coming with me.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: I'm excited. I'm sad I missed the last one because
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: she was telling me about the RJ, right?
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: RJ Mitty was there, Ali Stroker. And then I don't
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: remember his name, but he just got a part on
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: a TV show I saw.
• 18:43
  Speaker 5: I think you're referring to Steve Way.
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: Yes yes he was there and he's doing great he
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: just got great reviews for his new show wow.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah so uh we'd love to have him on as
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: well um but there was just so many people there.
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: No i couldn't even it's a good it's a good
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: opportunity for everyone networking and just and being able to
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: see like it was great for shauna to see so
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: many people with physical disabilities that were getting into stardom or.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: The entertainment industry. And it was kind of like, Oh
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: my God, like I finally belong somewhere, you know? And
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: it was like, I could relate to these people. So
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: it was, it was really nice. So thank you for
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: having me.
• 19:28
  Speaker 5: A pleasure. No, it's our night to shine, right?
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: It's like, you know, the, the, the moment of like,
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: you know, disabilities in the spotlight on the red carpet
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: that night.
• 19:36
  Speaker 5: And it's not done in a pity way. It's not coming.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: It's really coming from like, you know, like, good quality
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: work that needs to be put out there and needs
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: to be elevated. And what's amazing is one of the
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: reasons we chose the new school as our location is
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: that you saw how many wheelchair.
• 19:55
  Speaker 5: Seats we had there, which is I mean, you.
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: Know, most theaters in huge theaters you'll find at tops,
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: you know, one to five wheelchair seats.
• 20:06
  Speaker 5: And we need 40 So we were able to get,
• 20:10
  Speaker 5: you know, more than anywhere else. We were able to
• 20:13
  Speaker 5: get them in there. And that was really, really fantastic.
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: So what made you get involved? And how do you
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: start these events? Like, how did you get involved?
• 20:24
  Speaker 5: So I'm the CEO and co-founder of ReelAbilities.
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: And ReelAbilities, I started, I myself am neurodivergent and consider
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: myself a disabled person. I'm usually a person with a disability.
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: I go for person first. And and the disability was
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: never a something that like.
• 20:45
  Speaker 5: So many people in this world are afraid of disability.
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: They're afraid of things that are different. They see something
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: that's out of the ordinary and they don't know how
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: to deal with it. And they put it immediately in
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: their fear space. And I didn't come from that space.
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: I think my parents and my community and I come
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: from a family where disability is very present and very normal.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: And I was very proud to be able to present
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: some disability-related films outside of ReelAbilities before we started it.
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: And I saw that nobody was showing these movies, and
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: they were great movies. And then I came to my co-founder,
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: Anita Altman, and she had the same idea of starting
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: a disability film festival. And we jumped into it. with
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: the disability community. She was running a network of disability programs.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: So we are seeing more and more disability representation in
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: TV shows and movies. Do you think that Hollywood is
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: still getting it wrong by having able-bodied people portray a
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: disabled person? Or do you think that they're kind of
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: moving towards having actual disabled physically disabled people play different roles?
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: I mean, I think there's so much more than just
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: the authentic casting. Yes, there's been improvements.
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: Yes, Hollywood's still getting it wrong sometimes and still being
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: casting inauthentically. I'm also a believer, you know, we look
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: for our films to be as authentic as possible, not
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: just in front of the screen, but behind the scenes.
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: We want the films to be made from an insider perspective,
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: not the outsider perspective. And I see that constantly, that
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: the outsider perspective is brought up.
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: I was just on a flight recently.
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: And there was a movie called Everybody Dance and it
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: includes wheelchair users. Here's the blurb that they had up there.
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: This extremely touching film reveals the everyday challenges of kids
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: with different abilities. They couldn't even say the word disabilities
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: and how ballet has changed their lives. And it has
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: such an inspirational tone and talks about challenges because all
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: disability is challenges, right? I mean, it's like, I think
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: that the mainstream in Hollywood has not yet really understood
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: how to present disability correctly. And that goes from the
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: making to the advertising, to what we see on the
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: screen and how we see it on the screen. You know,
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: even like accessibility sometimes, you know, they'll make a movie
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: that relates to a disability topic and they'll kind of
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: ignore the accessibility that's needed beyond what's required.
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: So I do see positive examples.
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: Of course, like, you know, CODA being like, you know,
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: a great example that I think helped change Hollywood. There's
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: the new Judy Heumann film that's coming out, which is
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: also really great.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: Now, do you work with producers that are on TV
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: shows and that work with TV stations and kind of
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: like advocate for more authentic disability representation?
• 24:07
  Speaker 5: Absolutely.
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: So we're working, we've become a major resource for the
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: industry and we're constantly bringing in new connections for the industry.
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: We work very closely.
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: We have some great partners that really practice it and
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: own it and don't just try to use us to
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: check a box. And like organizations like AMC Networks, which
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: are huge, took on some of ReelAbility's films and puts
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: them on their streaming sites and have bought some of
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: our films from past festivals. And they've been really like
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: engaged and active and understand that this is the representation
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: that they want to see. And they listen to us
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: in terms of also like going beyond just on screen,
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: but off screen as well. Amazon works with us closely
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: and also has really been, I think, one of the
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: more progressive studios out there. NBC, Warner Brothers, really a
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: lot of great studios have come our way.
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: Apple TV, of course, is also pretty advanced. They did CODA.
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: They're doing the new Judy Heumann movie. And we're a
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: part of this ecosystem and are proud to be a resource.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: That's awesome.
• 25:19
  Speaker 5: I'm so sorry.
• 25:20
  Speaker 4: This fire alarm is going on so loud in the background.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: Is it okay, though? Is there a fire in your building?
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: Oh, I hope not.
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: I heard they're.
• 25:30
  Speaker 4: Making some announcements. Okay.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: They didn't say evacuate now.
• 25:36
  Speaker 4: No, no, no.
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: So what makes a film stand out to you when
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: you're selecting projects for real abilities? And is there something
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: that you immediately connect with, with them or.
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: I love that.
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: So first of all, we always look for authenticity and
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: who's been involved in the process. And it's not just
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: doesn't have to be the director. It's just like knowing
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: that the process was made with somebody with, with real representation. Um,
• 26:08
  Speaker 3: So we always look for that. But what I really
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: look for are really great films. But what stands out
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: to me are movies that are not about disability at all,
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: but not like are telling us a story of how someone,
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: you know, why they're in the wheelchair. But are really
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: stories that just happen to include disability or not exclude
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: disability like most stories do.
• 26:32
  Speaker 4: And, and I love those.
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: I love those that are just like, you know, here's
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: a love story and the love interest happens to be
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: disabled as, you know, opening night was like a perfect
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: example of that. It wasn't about the disability. It was
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: part of it.
• 26:45
  Speaker 4: It was there. It wasn't ignored.
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: It wasn't like, you know, whispered about in the background,
• 26:51
  Speaker 3: but it was just, but it went much more beyond that.
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: The disability actually was a tool to enhance the drama.
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: And I love it when, when that's, that's, that's good
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: filmmaking to me. But high production quality is also crucial.
• 27:06
  Speaker 3: I don't feel that we ever want to make the
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: statement that we're selecting a film just because it's about disability,
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: that it doesn't have to be as good as any
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: other movie out there. And really, so we look for
• 27:21
  Speaker 3: those films that are of equal quality and storytelling.
• 27:28
  Speaker 4: And disability representation.
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: And the truth is, we get way too many of
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: those films that we have to say no to good
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: films too.
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Now do you, you don't just take somebody that's
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: obviously just filming in their house or something. Like it
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: has to be an actual filmed movie.
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 27:48
  Speaker 4: We get some submissions like that.
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: People who are like, I made this YouTube video of
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: me in front of, you know, recording some zoom sessions and,
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: I'm like, OK, not a movie, you know, storytelling, production,
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: all that with the authentic representation and the the self
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: the self representation there.
• 28:13
  Speaker 4: All of those come together. And those are the ones
• 28:15
  Speaker 4: we look for.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, how do you find them or do they
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: reach out to you?
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: At this point we get hundreds and hundreds of submissions
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: and we're honestly overwhelmed. We, we also go out and like,
• 28:29
  Speaker 3: you know, keep our ear to the ground about all
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: the different productions that are out there.
• 28:32
  Speaker 4: We look at other film festivals.
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: We make sure that we're not missing anything because we
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: want to have all the best of the best.
• 28:40
  Speaker 4: But many of them come to us at this point.
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah. That's great.
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: I feel like that would take forever. Like, you know,
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: What's a typical, yeah, the timeframe of a movie over
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: an hour and then you watch it.
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: So I have to say, people always say to me like, wow,
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: you have the greatest job.
• 28:57
  Speaker 4: You just get to watch movies all day. So first
• 28:58
  Speaker 4: of all, I wish that's what I was doing, that
• 29:00
  Speaker 4: I was watching movies all day.
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: You know, there's so much more that goes into a
• 29:03
  Speaker 3: film festival and going beyond. We're really now, you know,
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: beyond the film festival, we're part of a movement and
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: a program that really supports film, disability film in the industry. Um, and,
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: and that's the majority of it. Rarely do I get
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: time to actually watch the films. And when you're watching,
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: you know, hundreds of films on the same topic and sometimes,
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: you know, oh my God, like, you know, there's themes
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: that come up.
• 29:26
  Speaker 4: Over and over and over again. You're like, I've seen
• 29:28
  Speaker 4: this movie so many times.
• 29:30
  Speaker 3: And then there's like a movie that's just like the
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: approach is totally wrong. And you're like, oh, they put
• 29:35
  Speaker 3: all this effort into it. And it was, you know,
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: so there's a lot of like guilt associated. emotions that
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: come into all of this.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: So what do you do? I mean, obviously, preparing for
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: the film festival takes months. But what do you do
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: like after the film festival? Do you start preparing and
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: working on the next like 2027s?
• 29:59
  Speaker 4: So we immediately start preparing.
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: We actually start our submissions immediately at the end of
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: the festival and start preparing for that. But we have
• 30:05
  Speaker 3: year-round programming. We have a big fall coming up where
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: we're a film that we're very close to called Take
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: Me Home is being released, and we're doing a screening
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: with them in September. October is a big month for
• 30:17
  Speaker 3: us because it's Disability Employment Awareness Month, and we have
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: a workplace program, which is really interesting. We take past
• 30:24
  Speaker 3: films from past festivals. We have so many short films
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: from 18 past years. We bring them into workplaces and
• 30:30
  Speaker 3: try to change workplace culture.
• 30:33
  Speaker 4: And we've heard from some.
• 30:34
  Speaker 3: Of the spaces that we work with that it has
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: impacted their HR department and how they hire and how
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: they approach disability and has completely changed the game.
• 30:45
  Speaker 4: It's extremely impactful. And of course, people see these movies.
• 30:48
  Speaker 4: And I mean, I see a movie and I remember
• 30:51
  Speaker 4: it for the rest of my life. It changes me.
• 30:53
  Speaker 3: So it's extremely effective. And we bring in conversations, of course, too,
• 30:57
  Speaker 3: to take it a little deeper. We have an educational
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: program where we take films into schools. We have a
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: streaming site We have all of our industry support programs
• 31:07
  Speaker 3: and panels that go on year round. We have an
• 31:10
  Speaker 3: industry summit that we are constantly building and evolving. And
• 31:14
  Speaker 3: we're constantly expanding to new cities. So our New York
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: Festival travels to cities across the globe.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: Oh, wow. I didn't know that.
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's smart to go into the schools
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: because children, I think that they should learn for young that,
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: there's nothing that, you know, I'll go to a little
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: story about my back. My cousin, she was in a
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: wheelchair since she was like seven and we grew up
• 31:39
  Speaker 2: around it. So it was nothing to us. And when
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: we would go out with her, kids were staring, people
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: were staring. And I would always get upset. Like, why
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: are people staring? You know, there's nothing, you know, it was,
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: it was normal to me. And I think that getting
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: into the schools and just showing that, Hey, this is
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: not something that you should be staring at. We're all human.
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: We're all different um i think that's a something that
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: i i think is very smart to do is to
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: kind of show the children.
• 32:07
  Speaker 3: And absolutely i mean first of all there's so much
• 32:10
  Speaker 3: bullying that goes on there's so much inappropriateness that happens
• 32:14
  Speaker 3: and and i i want to give credit to like
• 32:16
  Speaker 3: the department of education here in new york who leaned
• 32:18
  Speaker 3: in to to real abilities as like one of their
• 32:22
  Speaker 3: resources of making sure that there's disability inclusion programs going
• 32:26
  Speaker 3: on within the school system. And we give them access
• 32:30
  Speaker 3: for free to all these short films that have signed
• 32:33
  Speaker 3: on with us to our educational program. We give them
• 32:36
  Speaker 3: educational materials to lead the conversations. And it changed the
• 32:40
  Speaker 3: way disability is seen. Because the movies that we have,
• 32:43
  Speaker 3: our tagline is reframing disability. We like to show disability
• 32:46
  Speaker 3: like it's never been shown before. We like to show
• 32:48
  Speaker 3: how disability is not the cliches that you've often seen
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: in those Hollywood movies, but rather are nuanced and imperfect.
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: you know, are not like, you know, driven by pity.
• 33:03
  Speaker 3: And we really try to bring new perspectives that will
• 33:08
  Speaker 3: change the culture.
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah. It's so important, especially, you know, not even just
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: in the city, but I think in every school district,
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: you know, worldwide needs this.
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: A hundred percent. Because like you said, the bullying that
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: goes on or even, The curiosity, even if it's innocent,
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: it sometimes can hurt someone who has a disability, you know?
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: And I think that if it's more talked about and,
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: and Hey, there's nothing crazy about this. Everyone's normal. We're,
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: you know, we just, like you said, different abilities and
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: we have disabilities, but we can do things differently. You know,
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: she always says that about herself. I can do everything
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: you can do. I just do it a little differently,
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: you know? So I think it's very important for children.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah.
• 33:54
  Speaker 4: And it's important to not be afraid of difference. And
• 33:57
  Speaker 4: if you see it, then it's no longer a foreign thing.
• 34:00
  Speaker 3: So it's good to to and to say the word,
• 34:04
  Speaker 3: you know, I think that's why we put it out there.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 34:07
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: So for someone that does have a disability that wants
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: to break into the industry, do you what advice do
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: you have for them?
• 34:17
  Speaker 4: Run away as fast as you can.
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: And that's for anybody who's trying to break into the industry. No,
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: I mean, there's a lot of great resources out there
• 34:27
  Speaker 3: and real abilities is a resource too. And I think
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: it's about, you know, I think the authenticity actually, like,
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: like don't try to hide your disability. I think, I
• 34:37
  Speaker 3: think actually it, let it elevate you, let it be like,
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: you know, what makes you unique in, in this, in
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: this field. And, Um, and definitely like, you know, there's
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: no reason for there ever to be any obstacles to
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: getting any.
• 34:53
  Speaker 4: Kind of role. I think, I think it's, and that
• 34:56
  Speaker 4: goes again in front of the camera and behind the camera. Yeah.
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah. So, uh, if our listeners are out there and
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: have a movie, how do they submit to ReelAbilities?
• 35:09
  Speaker 4: Our submissions are open.
• 35:10
  Speaker 3: They could go to real abilities.org and, um, uh, and
• 35:14
  Speaker 3: submit there.
• 35:14
  Speaker 4: There's a submission. We do it.
• 35:16
  Speaker 3: There's a site called film freeway, which it will link
• 35:19
  Speaker 3: you to. Um, but real abilities, R E E L, um,
• 35:24
  Speaker 3: real abilities is, is the website. And, um, uh, our
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: submission page is definitely open. It's just open for a
• 35:31
  Speaker 3: couple more months. So, um, get your films out there.
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: Your inbox must be packed. Yeah.
• 35:38
  Speaker 4: That's part of what I do all day. Try to
• 35:40
  Speaker 4: keep up with my inbox.
• 35:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. I just, I can't imagine then having
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: to watch every movie. Yeah. You know, or like, I
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: don't know if they actually send you the whole movie
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: or do they send you like reels?
• 35:53
  Speaker 3: They submit the whole film and we make sure to
• 35:57
  Speaker 3: watch absolutely every one of them. We have a whole
• 35:59
  Speaker 3: selection committee that also works with us and screens through
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: and helps the process along and brings in more perspective.
• 36:07
  Speaker 4: So it's not just like, you know, what I like.
• 36:09
  Speaker 4: It's what other people like too. It turns out people
• 36:11
  Speaker 4: have different tastes.
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: Yes. Yeah. Yes. That is true. Yeah.
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: That's good. Like a little checklist and that's awesome.
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: Well, I can't wait for next year. I'm so excited already.
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: Like I've been planning out what I'm going to wear.
• 36:25
  Speaker 2: I'm excited to go with you this time. So at
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: least I can make that happen this year.
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 36:31
  Speaker 4: And come for the full week and come throughout the year.
• 36:33
  Speaker 4: We have so many exciting programs happening. So we'd be
• 36:37
  Speaker 4: happy to see you.
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, see, I didn't even know about these other programs.
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: That's great.
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: Check it out and see what we can do and
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: what we can go to. So that'd be great.
• 36:48
  Speaker 4: Awesome.
• 36:49
  Speaker 3: Just this past weekend, for the first time, we were
• 36:51
  Speaker 3: out in the Hamptons in Sag Harbor at the Sag
• 36:53
  Speaker 3: Harbor Cinema. We did a little salon there for people
• 36:59
  Speaker 3: to engage in real abilities and showed some of our
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: short films.
• 37:02
  Speaker 4: That's awesome. It's constant. There's something really every week. Wow.
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: That's great.
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: Well, we will keep in touch with that. And hopefully
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: we can make a few of them. Because we'll be
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: in New York. It's nothing crazy.
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we're like two hours away.
• 37:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: So not far.
• 37:18
  Speaker 3: Easy enough.
• 37:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: Well, thank you, Isaac, for coming on the show today. Everyone,
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: check out realabilities.org. And that is R-E-E-L-A-B-I-L-I-T-I-E-S dot org. And
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: breaking news. Dolly Parton has passed away. I cannot believe it.
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: I mean, like when I said that to my husband,
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: he said, I just texted him. He's like, you can't
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: believe it. She's 80 years old. I said, I never
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: knew how old she was. She always looks so good.
• 37:52
  Speaker 4: I know.
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: She looked like she was in her like 60s. Yeah.
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: So I just, I mean, I know death comes to
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: all of us, but I really didn't think she was 80.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: So I didn't expect it.
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: And I didn't know she was sick. The cause of
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: death is not released yet. I know that she had
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: health problems, but I truly didn't know that she was
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: that sick or, you know, gonna die. And I remember
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: just seeing something yesterday saying, like, that she put out
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: a statement or something that she's, you know, she has
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: her bad days, but she's still making music.
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and she said that she feels like she has
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: so much more to do in this lifetime, so she...
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: she was banking on making it another however many years
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: and that's great. So I, she's amazing. Um, we, you know,
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: we all kind of grew up with her. And then
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: when Sean and I went to Nashville last year, we, um,
• 38:47
  Speaker 2: we got tickets to go see her show and it
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: was her grand opening of her musical about her life.
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: And I have to admit, even though I liked her songs,
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: I was not excited to go because I was like,
• 38:58
  Speaker 2: I don't like musicals. I don't like Broadway shows. I
• 39:01
  Speaker 2: don't know if I want to sit through this.
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: I don't either. I hate Broadway shows.
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: But we went. I'm thankful that we went and it
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: was absolutely amazing. You were crying.
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: I cried.
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: I laughed. I was happy. I was astonished at her life.
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: I never knew the hardships that she faced. She was
• 39:22
  Speaker 2: dirt poor, like lived in a shack in the woods
• 39:26
  Speaker 2: with How many siblings, like six, eight? I can't remember,
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: it was a lot.
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: I don't remember but it was like a small little
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: house yeah similar she grew up similar to the.
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: Way my mom did yeah poor and no running water
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: type thing you know barefoot in the dirt so to
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: see that and from a young little girl she knew
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: what she wants she wanted to be a star And
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: she made those dreams come true. And that's amazing because
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: that's hard to go from nothing to everything. And I
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: think that's why she was such a good person because
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: she knew what it was to have nothing. She knew
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: what it was to struggle. And she helped so many
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: people in her lifetime, so many children, so many communities.
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: She gave and gave and gave. And she was a
• 40:07
  Speaker 2: beautiful Christian woman, good soul. And we need more of
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: her in the world. It's really sad. We do.
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: And she was one of a kind and she will
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: definitely be missed. And that's our show for this week.
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for tuning in. Be sure to
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: follow us at ShonaAndLala.com on all social media platforms at ShonaAndLala.
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: You could follow me on Instagram at TheRealShonaMay.
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: And check me out at Bella underscore Lala 125.
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: We will see you next week.