- Directors
- Dan Habib, Samuel Habib
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 97 minutes
- Release Date
- n/a
Overall Score
Rating Summary
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Samuel Habib is a young adult from New Hampshire, U.S., and a New Hampshire Technical Institute student. He lives with GNA01 Neurodevelopmental Disorder, which leads him to experience chronic health challenges. He uses a wheelchair for mobility and a mix of communication devices with his voice to communicate. At the dawn of his adulthood, he decides to go on a road trip to learn from other people’s experiences of what it’s like to be a disabled adult in society. Samuel and Dan Habib, the film directors, have created a powerful tool for raising awareness. The Ride Ahead is the feature-length version of The New York Times Op-Doc’ My Disability Roadmap.’ This short film, which won the 44th News and Documentary Emmy Awards for Outstanding Soft Feature Story: Long Form, has been expanded into a feature that delves deeper into Samuel’s life. It follows his journey after high school graduation and his transition to college, highlighting the fear of not being accepted or not having the necessary access to resources to study.
Another exciting part of The Ride Ahead is when it saw Samuel out on the road to interview disabled adults, which somehow changed society. He interviews legends such as Judy Heumann, a landmark activist in disabled rights in the United States. He also spoke with artists Ali Stroker and Keith Jones. Runner Andrew Peterson and advocates Bob Williams and Lydia X.Z Brown in conversations that were sincere and thrilling to watch. Filled with heartfelt and essential questions, they also served as a lesson for Samuel as he learned how to adapt to a world not made to make him feel included. An extension of My Disability Roadmap, it thrives when focusing on Samuel and his excitement as he looked forward to discover the world on his own. Showing the good and the bad, he gets frustrated when people talk down to him nor does he want people to feel pity for him. This is reflected in a moment where President Joe Biden strokes his face in a brief conversation, leaving Samuel feeling disappointed. Samuel does not want to be treated like a five-year-old. He is a twenty-one-year-old adult preparing to move from his parents’ home.
In the end, The Ride Ahead is a film that deeply broadens its original source material by expanding its depiction of Samuel Habib’s story. In essence, it is a coming-of-age story about a young disabled man who simply wants to see the world with his own eyes.
still courtesy of Hot Docs
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Brazilian film writer. He is also a producer and executive producer for Zariah Filmes. Member of the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA), International Documentary Association (IDA), and Gotham and Media Film Institute.