WXXI Move to Include

Understanding Autism • WXXI-TV

Filmmaker Scott Steindorff learns about autism.

Understanding Autism airs Monday, January 13, 2025 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI app.

Understanding Autism follows filmmaker Scott Steindorff as he aims to discover more about his own autism. Speaking to autistic people all across the spectrum, he seeks to reframe the perception of autism by focusing on the identification, diagnosis, and treatment by highlighting the amazing talents and love of neurodiversity.

his program is presented as part of Dialogue on Disability, a partnership between WXXI and Al Sigl Community of Agencies – in conjunction with the Herman and Margaret Schwartz Community Series. Dialogue on Disability is supported by the Fred L. Emerson Foundation with additional support from The Golisano Foundation. The weeklong initiative runs January 13-19, 2025

WXXI and Al Sigl have been hosting Dialogue on Disability since 2005. In 2014, with the support of businessman and philanthropist Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation, Move to Include™ was formed. This initiative enables WXXI to present and develop programming that promotes inclusion year round.

Photo: Scott Steindorff
Provided by PBS

Becoming Frida Kahlo • WXXI-TV

This final episode focuses on Frida Kahlo’s later life, including her affair with Leon Trotsky, her trip to Paris on the eve of World War II and her return to Mexico where she divorces then remarries Diego Rivera before her death.

Becoming Frida Kahlo airs Tuesday, July 2 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

See the major personal and political events of her life, including her stormy and devoted relationship with artist Diego Rivera, whom she married not once but twice. Watch On-Demand Here

This film is presented as part of Move to Include™ , a national initiative in partnership with WXXI and The Golisano Foundation that uses the power of public media to promote inclusion. Click here to learn more.

The Great World of Gregory Blackstock: On-Demand

The richly obsessive life and work of renowned autistic artist Gregory Blackstock comes to life, as he uses his art to catalogue and make sense of the world around him. Gregory’s cousin Dorothy helps bring his drawings to the attention of the art world, while the film brings his work to life through hand-crafted animation, drawing you into the unique vision of this singular artist.

4 Wheel Bob • WXXI-WORLD

Tells the story of Bob Coomber, an intrepid adventurer who sets out to become the first wheelchair hiker to cross the 11,845 foot Kearsarge Pass in the Sierra Nevada of California.

4 Wheel Bob airs Wednesday, October 23 at 7 p.m. on WXXI-WORLD.

The one-hour documentary follows the inspirational journey of Bob while encouraging us to look at our own self-imposed limitations and perhaps reach beyond what we think is possible.

Photo: Bob Coomber • Provided by Tritone Films

Independent Lens: The Tuba Thieves On-Demand

The Tuba Thieves: What is the role of sound and what does it mean to listen? Hard of hearing filmmaker Alison O’Daniel uses a series of tuba thefts in Los Angeles high schools as a jumping-off point to explore these questions. Through several d/Deaf people telling stories in a unique game of telephone, the central mystery of The Tuba Thieves isn’t about theft of instruments; it’s about the nature of sound itself.

Watch On-Demand Through 8/18/24

More About the Film at PBS Independent Lens: The Tuba Thieves

Learn More: ITVS Film Website

Independent Lens: The Tuba Thieves on WXXI-WORLD

The experimental documentary The Tuba Thieves is about deaf storytelling and the very nature of sound and listening.

Independent Lens: The Tuba Thieves airs Sunday, January 18 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-WORLD and streaming live on the WXXI and PBS apps.

The Tuba Thieves: Between 2011 and 2013, tubas were stolen from high schools across Southern California. Against this backdrop, hard of hearing filmmaker Alison O’Daniel generates new sensitivity to sound and meaning in an unconventional documentary experience. What does it mean to listen? An exploration of musicality set against a theft. The central mystery of this unconventional documentary isn’t about theft; it’s about the nature of sound itself.

This program is presented as part of Dialogue on Disability and Move to Include

Watch the Extended Trailer:

More About the Film at PBS Independent Lens: The Tuba Thieves

Learn More: ITVS Film Website

In a Different Key • WXXI-TV

How life turned out for the first child diagnosed with autism, and what acceptance means.

In a Different Key airs Monday, January 12 at 4 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI and PBS apps.

A mother tracks down the first person ever diagnosed with autism, now an elderly man living in rural Mississippi, to learn if his life story holds promise for her own autistic son. Her journey exposes a startling record of cruelty and kindness alike, framed by forces like race, money and privilege – but leads to hope that more communities are learning to have the backs of people on the spectrum.

This program is presented as part of Dialogue on Disability, a partnership between WXXI and Al Sigl Community of Agencies – in conjunction with the Herman and Margaret Schwartz Community Series. Dialogue on Disability is supported by the Fred L. Emerson Foundation with additional support from The Golisano Foundation. The weeklong initiative runs January 12-18, 2026.

Photo: Title card • Credit: WXXI

Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s • On-Demand

Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s, a film by Anna Moot-Levin and Laura Green features three people—a political cartoonist, a mother turned boxing coach, and an optician as they navigate their lives with resourcefulness and determination in the face of a degenerative illness, Parkinson’s disease.

Available on-demand through 5/8/2024

Photo from Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s – Independent Lens

Watch the Trailer:

Learn More: Film Website

PBS Independent Lens: Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s

About Indie Lens Pop-Up
Indie Lens Pop-Up is a community series that brings people together for film screenings and conversations. Featuring documentaries seen on PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS, Indie Lens Pop-Up draws local residents, leaders, and organizations to discuss what matters most. Learn more at pbs.org/indielenspopup

Presented by ITVS, INDEPENDENT LENS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Acton Family Giving, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts. Stream anytime on the PBS App. For more visit pbs.org/independentlens.