Page 35 - Peter Farrelly Issue

In 2019, ABILITY Magazine learned of a concept film that would star two disabled leading men who happen to be friends of ABILITY. Today, our friends, Tobias (Toby) Forrest and John W. Lawson, star in “Daruma,” a masterfully acted and produced film praised by top names in the industry. This independent feature film was the brainchild of Kelli McNeil and directed by her husband, Alexander Yellen, who set out to cast authentic actors with disabilities and also hire crew with disabilities.
Years after that ABILITY Magazine article, “Daruma” debuted in front of a capacity crowd at the Dances with Films Film Festival at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Loosely inspired by a family member’s life experience, the film has been a labor of love for McNeil. Together with Yellen, a veteran director of both television and film, the two have worked for years to write, cast, produce, film and ink a distribution deal for “Daruma.”
The film was truly years in the making. When their original studio pressured them to fill at least one of the leading roles with an actor pretending to be disabled, McNeil and Yellen opted to produce the film independently. They selected Forrest, a quadriplegic, for the leading role of “Patrick”, who is a
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