Filmmaker Jason DaSilva addresses accessibility issues with technology

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      When filmmaker Jason DaSilva was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, his life changed forever. Yet he didn’t let that stop him—he’s now helping to improve the lives of others with the power of technology.

      DaSilva, who is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and attended high school and Emily Carr University of Art and Design here, learned he had primary progressive multiple sclerosis when he was 25 years old. The disease is relentless: it’s a continual deterioration of neurological functioning without any remission or respite.

      DaSilva chronicled his experiences over a seven-year period in his documentary When I Walk, named the most popular Canadian documentary at the 2013 Vancouver International Film Festival. He also made several short films during that time, a collection of which—entitled Jason DaSilva: My Point of View (A Disploitation Diary)—he will show at the Vancity Theatre on Thursday (September 17). At that screening, he’ll be presented with the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C.’s 2014–15 Deryck Thomson Award for his contributions to social planning and justice.

      In shorts like “Grab That Spoon!” and “The Long Wait: A Disabled Filmmaker’s Unique Experiment in NYC”, he reveals how simple tasks such as getting utensils or taking public transit to meet a friend for coffee are much more difficult than they used to be for him. He’s not without humour, though—for instance, he illustrates, amusingly, how well-meaning people can be more annoying than helpful in “Getting Up the Stairs”.

      Yet while the films detail the physical, social, and emotional challenges DaSilva faces, he doesn’t want people to overlook his creativity.

      “I handpicked several films that I’ve done that really show my artistry and my craft as a filmmaker but also as a performance artist,” he says. “I would like people to just see it as an artist pursuing his craft more than just a guy talking about his multiple sclerosis or…accessibility or anything.”

      He cites experimental video artists Marina Abramović and Michael Snow as influences.

      In spite of all the changes he’s experienced, there are some things that have remained the same.

      “My vision’s getting really bad, and also my hands are getting bad so I can’t type on the computer…but I will say that my mind is completely intact,” he says. “It is frustrating that I have so many ideas now but I can’t actually actualize them at the speed at which I would like to.”

      As his physical abilities have decreased, DaSilva has had friends or family help shoot his films, and he now works closely with his director of photography.

      It’s a major shift for someone who says, on the line from New York City, that he’s always been a hands-on “big tech geek”. He says that when hi-res cameras first hit the market, he eagerly jumped onto the tech bandwagon. A recent learning curve for him has been using assistive technology, which, he confesses, he’s not particularly proficient at.

      “I have an assistant that types for me, which is, ultimately, a lack of privacy, but it makes things a lot faster,” he says.

      However, his relationship with technology hasn’t waned. Quite the opposite, actually.

      One brainchild of his is AXS Map, an online and mobile app (launched in 2011) that allows users to rate the accessibility for people who use wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and more of places such as stores, restaurants, theatres, banks, and hair salons. Users can rate amenities such as entryways and bathrooms from one to five stars. Criteria for evaluating an entryway, for instance, include whether it has stairs and/or an available ramp, and the width of the doorway.

      SPARC BC is presenting a free AXS Map mapathon event on Saturday (September 19) from 10 a.m. to noon at the Gathering Place Community Centre (609 Helmcken Street) in which DaSilva will teach people how to use the app on their phones so they can increase the number of evaluations of Vancouver venues. (Attendees who don’t have a smartphone can record their ratings on paper and enter the information on their computer at home.)

      DaSilva rates our city, where his mother and brother still live, as one of the top cities for accessibility, and he finds, in general, that West Coast and Canadian cities tend to be more access-oriented.

      He points out that AXS Map now has a Mapathon tool, powered by Google Places, so that anyone can organize a mapathon event like his.

      Although he says he’s somewhat pessimistic about the “shelf life” of his films, DaSilva hopes that AXS Map will have great longevity and will continue to develop and help others.

      “I want it to be something that goes on for generations to come.”

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig.

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