LOVE LAND's leads, Monica Gaseor and Michael Iovine, auditioned for the movie in Spring 2013 in Houston, Texas. Both are actors in the Dionysus Theatre of Houston, and both live with developmental disability labels.
The casting process was part of the filmmakers' commitment to "inclusive casting" practices, an effort to empower actors with disability labels to represent themselves on screen.
The casting process was part of the filmmakers' commitment to "inclusive casting" practices, an effort to empower actors with disability labels to represent themselves on screen.
Several disability advocacy organizations support LOVE LAND, including Community Now!, a Texas-wide, all volunteer organization comprised of advocates, Texans who have a disability, parents, grandparents, and siblings who see the potential for persons who have a disability and fight for their right to live in their communities with access to quality, community-based long-term care supports and services. Community Now's Inclusive Cinema Empowerment Project Grant partially financed the film.
LOVE LAND is also endorsed by the Disability Cinema Coalition, an alliance of organizations that includes -- alongside Community Now! -- ADAPT of Texas, Boulder ADAPT, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, Dionysus Theatre of Houston, Down Syndrome in the Arts and Media, Exceptional Ability Entertainment, L.A. GOAL, Media Alliance, Nicu's Spoon Theater, and VSA Texas.
LOVE LAND is also endorsed by the Disability Cinema Coalition, an alliance of organizations that includes -- alongside Community Now! -- ADAPT of Texas, Boulder ADAPT, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, Dionysus Theatre of Houston, Down Syndrome in the Arts and Media, Exceptional Ability Entertainment, L.A. GOAL, Media Alliance, Nicu's Spoon Theater, and VSA Texas.
Joshua Tate grew up in an extended family of disability rights advocates, including a cousin with a developmental disability. His uncle, Jeff Garrison-Tate, and his cousin, Joe Tate, are outspoken advocates for Texans with disabilities, working alongside people with disabilities toward the independence, self-determination, and self-actualization of people who live with disability labels in the Lone Star State and throughout the nation.
Joshua Tate's 2007 documentary, FORGOTTEN LIVES, looks at the instances and trends of past and ongoing abuse and neglect in several of the 13 Texas state institutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (known as "State Supported Living Centers" and previously known as "State Schools").
Joshua Tate's 2007 documentary, FORGOTTEN LIVES, looks at the instances and trends of past and ongoing abuse and neglect in several of the 13 Texas state institutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (known as "State Supported Living Centers" and previously known as "State Schools").
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