Woman With Disabilities Brings Imagination to Life Through Short Film

NAPERVILLE, IL — 24-year-old Naperville resident Erin Feeney can’t talk. She’s bound to a wheelchair and has cerebral palsy.

But those limitations don’t mean much to her. In fact, they’ve helped inspire her to not only write her own stories, but make a movie, as well, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune.

Feeney’s film, “Kids in Toyland,” is based on her own stories of a place where those with disabilities find they can do anything.

With the help of grants, filmmaker Billy Surges and Artful Impact’s Artistic Director Heather Hutchison, Feeney’s ideas came to life in a film that will be screened at the Naperville Independent Film Festival. The short film, which runs only seven minutes, features other disabled actors, including Feeney, according to the report.

Speaking through her interpreter father, Feeney talked about her own experiences with bullying.

"I had a hard childhood," she said in the article, adding that she didn’t fit in. She turned to movies for friendship.

“Kids in Toyland” will be screened at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Naperville Independent Film Festival.

Mre via the Chicago Tribune...

Photo courtesy of the Naperville Independent Film Festival.