The Ride Ahead (2024)

In this expansion of his short film Disability Roadmap (Hot Docs 2022), director Samuel Habib is a typical 21-year-old, itching to move out of the family nest, start a career and find sex, love and partnership. But his 160-kilogram wheelchair, laboured speech and use of a communication device affect his ability to connect and make new friends. Every rite of passage is fraught with challenges as unexpected seizures and uncontrollable movements caused by a rare genetic mutation called GNAO1 Neurodevelopmental Disorder interfere with his hopes and dreams. “No one tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability,” so he goes on a road trip to interview disability rights pioneers and advocates, and adults with disabilities who have already been through what he’s facing to find wisdom and advice for forging his own path beyond high school, when the statistical realities of unemployment, isolation and institutionalization begin. Asking people questions leads to answers—Habib’s own.