It was a pleasure to spend a little time talking with Jim LeBrecht. We share a passion for film and its power to inform and inspire, and I’m honored to interview him.
I can attest to the power of the Oscar-nominated documentary Crip Camp’s ability to inform and inspire. It is a moving, important and enjoyable documentary film, which LeBrecht co-wrote, co-produced, and co-directed alongside the esteemed Nicole Newnham. Sara Bolder rounds out the producing trio behind the film and also happens to be LeBrecht’s wife. This talented team delivered on all counts with Crip Camp.
As a filmmaker and a teaching artist, I am interested in the topic of authenticity in storytelling and media creation. I find that inclusion and authenticity often go hand in hand. I asked LeBrecht about his approach to telling the story of Camp Jened authentically, as not only a filmmaker but also a person who lived the story that was being told.
It was really organic to the process,” LeBrecht explains, “I co-directed, co-produced, and co-wrote with Nicole Newnham. She and I really forged a remarkable collaboration. I pitched an idea about this film to her. She came back and said, ‘Why don’t we direct this together?’ The thing that is authentic and what makes it so good is that instead of someone else observing us [disabled individuals] as a community, [in the film] you heard the true thoughts and words of people with disabilities. That doesn’t happen very often. Having people with disabilities working on and being in the film, that sort of authentic storytelling just happened.”
What Crip Camp demonstrates is that when people who have lived an experience are a part of the filmmaking process, authenticity in storytelling comes easily and you can feel and see that in the final result. LeBrecht also shared that there were other disabled people working on the film as well (besides himself). “We tried to hire from the community when we could. Plus, many people have hidden disabilities, and it’s not always appropriate to ask.”
For this film, LeBrecht expanded his repertoire of film roles, having previously worked primarily in the sound department. “Although I had easily mixed over 150 documentaries, I had never been in the editing room before,” he shared. “In the beginning, there were definitely times that I felt like a fish out of water, but I had a trusting relationship with Nicole and our editor, Andy Gersh. We had worked together for years. If we felt differently about something, I would mostly lay back and say let’s see what pans out because they are more experienced about that aspect in filmmaking than I am. We had an agreement, though, that if there was something that I was uncomfortable with, it wouldn’t make it into the film, but it never came to that. I knew the film was in incredible hands. The film would be just fine because of that.”
He hits at the core of what made it all work: “Trust. Collaboration. Being able to communicate. Feeling confident that you would be heard and understood.” Still, producing and directing and then also being a subject in the documentary was a delicate balancing act that even with a talented team and a strong sense of trust, wasn’t always easy.
“Being a director on one hand and then in the film a split second later was really tough,” LeBrecht admits. “It was definitely a challenge, but yet again, I’ll sound like the Nicole Newnham fan club. She is so used to working with people as a documentarian that we were able to kind of pivot quickly.
LeBrecht’s narration is essential for the film and draws you into its subject matter and connects you to the community in a unique way. "All the narration was recorded into a portable recorder that we kept in the editing room or close by in the building," he explains. "So, we’d be talking about the footage and I’d say, something is coming to mind, and I’d start talking about it. The editor would stop me and say let’s work on this for narration. Or Nicole might write something and then I’d work on it and we’d record it. My joke is that 40 years of therapy never hurt anybody in terms of being able to talk about what you’re feeling.”
It is clear when you watch the film that art and activism are tied together for LeBrecht. That bond and his years of experience working on documentaries through his sound work are important pieces to the puzzle that gets Crip Camp made.
I could see the power of film and of documentary film particularly in my own work working as a mixer. It’s kind of like I’ve been in grad school for a couple of decades really looking at the power of this medium,” LeBrecht offers. “And what it really told me is that there’s great power in documentary film. I felt passionate about making the world a better place, not just for people with disabilities, but in general. It’s a natural part of who I am.”
Crip Camp underscores this aspect of who LeBrecht is, but there were times in his life when LeBrecht felt like activism took the back seat. He speaks frankly about this: “There were times when I couldn’t do anything except my job, especially at Berkeley Rep, and one time, Judy [Judith Heumann, an important subject of the film and critical activist and leader in the disability rights movement] and I were hanging out and I said that I felt kind of bad that I had to drop out as being an activist because my job is all-encompassing and she said, ‘Jimmy, we knew you were climbing stairs at the old Berkeley Rep building. We knew you were doing this amazing work. You were doing what the movement is all about,’ and this made me realize that we all have our part and our way of doing things.”
He thinks this point is especially important to relay to students, “You don’t have to carry a sign to support others in the movement. You can bake cookies for the meeting and that’s very important.”
In addition to this advice, LeBrecht spoke to me specifically about what educators who are seeking to build inclusive classrooms can do and how teachers can approach their classrooms when they are hoping to offer their students a wide array of voices and experiences to learn from, rather than limited or singular points of view.
“People in society have been marginalized and discounted for who they are,” LeBrecht explains. “The disabled are often left out of diversity and inclusion efforts in the classroom and otherwise. My disability is part of my culture. I’m not ashamed of having a disability. I wear it as a badge of honor. So, teachers need to look and think ‘How old is this lesson plan? Who is not being listed here? Whose viewpoint is it coming from?’ We should not be learning about Native people through books and movies made by non-Native people. We should not be learning about people of color from someone else. Students need to learn the history of disabled people from the point of view of people with disabilities."
Whatever negative stereotypes of people with disabilities exist are because we are not being heard or seen, but as you see in Crip Camp, we have a rich history and you see that we are incredible people—sexy people, fun people, incredible dancers, and thinkers. If kids aren’t learning that early on, the stereotypes that we do not have much to offer are going to continue. For every Stephen Hawking, there’s thousands of incredible people doing wonderful things out there that people just don’t know about."
“I think it’s important for us to continue to educate ourselves. I’ve lived with a disability my whole life, but I did not know anything about Disability Justice until five years ago, but now I do. You can always try to learn more. It’s essential that people never stop trying to learn or stop trying to seek out other sources in terms of the materials they will share with their students.”
As for what’s next for LeBrecht? Hopefully, lots. “I am working on some scripted projects that I’m hoping will take off, and I’ve been heavily involved with an organization that I helped found with some other people that support documentary filmmakers with disabilities. It’s called forward doc. Those are things that are keeping me busy. We’ll see who the heck wants to hire me for something,” he shares.
Even with all of his success and the acclaim that Crip Camp has had (including its high profile executive producers, the Obamas), LeBrecht’s experience since the film’s release is a reminder of how far the film and television industry has to go when it comes to true inclusion and equity.
“Most filmmakers who won the Audience Award at Sundance and have been nominated for an Academy Award have people banging their doors down, and I had virtually nothing,” LeBrecht explains. “That speaks volumes about Hollywood’s expectations around people with disabilities. That speaks to how important it is for people with disabilities to be hired and be producers, directors, executives, grips, stars. Until that day, we’ll see the same old crap.”
If I’m gonna make another documentary, it’s going to be about access to healthcare for people with disabilities. I’m a white guy in a wheelchair and what I have to deal with is awful. The ableism that I come across in medical settings is traumatic. So, imagine what it must be like if you are a disabled woman of color, how hard it would be to be taken seriously, to be heard, to be respected.”
These final words resonate deeply with me and circle back to where we started, which is the importance of centering authentic voices and uplifting those who have lived the experiences that we want (and need) to learn about. Crip Camp is authentic because of the people who were involved in the making of it, because of the voices that were at the table, the voices that were centered, and the voices that were heard, were all voices that have been absent from the conversation for far too long.
When we bring media into our lives, classrooms, libraries, and communities that are told by the very communities the stories are centered on, we all benefit. When we have media made by a wide array of individuals from various backgrounds and points of view, we all gain.
What are you watching? How are you expanding your worldview? How are you centering traditionally oppressed voices? What small role can you play in opening access and creating change? Let’s share and grow together.
Journeys in Film now has a free discussion guide and free curriculum guide available on their website for the documentary Crip Camp. You can find those resources and details about bringing the film to your classroom, community group or home here.
I also recommend the Oscar-nominated short film Feeling Through. This narrative short film tells the story of a late-night encounter on a New York City street that leads to a profound connection between a teen-in-need and a deafblind man. Doug Roland wrote the script based on his own similar encounter with a deafblind man. As the film moved into production, Roland committed to casting a deafblind actor. In collaboration with Helen Keller Services, Robert Tarango was cast as Artie, becoming the first deafblind actor to play a lead film role.
Please utilize the following additional resources for teaching about disability rights, inclusion, visibility, awareness, and Disability Justice:
Disabled in Action, an organization founded by Judy Heumann
TED talk by Judy Heumann on “Our fight for disability rights — and why we’re not done yet"
Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility Project
FWD-Doc: Documentary Filmmakers With Disabilities
National Federation of the Blind