About The Project
Before his son Samuel was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, photojournalist Dan Habib rarely thought about the inclusion of people with disabilities. Now he thinks about inclusion every day. Shot and produced over four years, Habib's award-winning documentary film, Including Samuel, honestly chronicles the Habib family's efforts to include Samuel in every facet of their lives. The film also features four other families with varied inclusion experiences, plus interviews with dozens of teachers, young people, parents and disability rights experts.
Including Samuel has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, Good Morning American NOW and in the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. Exceptional Parent magazine said “Including Samuel is a must see film.” The film won the Positive Images in Media award from TASH, an international group committed to the full inclusion of people with disabilities. The film was also screened at the Sprout Film Festival at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC) and named “Best Documentary” at the Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival.
Including Samuel was edited by Rikk Desgres of Pinehurst Pictures and Sound.
About Dan Habib
Photo: Franz Nicolay
Dan Habib is the director and producer of the new documentary, Including Samuel.
Habib is Filmmaker in Residence at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. Until joining UNH in April of 2008, Habib was the photography editor of the Concord Monitor. In 2006 and 2008 he was named the national Photography Editor of the Year for papers under 100,000 circulation.
Between his stints at the Monitor, Habib freelanced and created a multi-media documentary project titled “Teen Sexuality in a Culture of Confusion” (www.danhabib.com).
His freelance work, including extensive documentary work in China, has appeared in numerous publications, including Time, Newsweek, Life, Mother Jones and the New York Times.
Habib has been named New Hampshire Photographer of the Year six times. He has been a judge of Pulitzer Prizes, Pictures of the Year, Best of Photojournalism and White House News Photographer’s Association.
Habib and his wife, Betsy, live in Concord, New Hampshire, with their sons Isaiah, 11, and Samuel, 8.
Supporters
Including Samuel has received major support from the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability, Granite State Independent Living, the New Hampshire Developmental Disabilities Council, the Endowment for Health, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Easter Seals New Hampshire.
Additional support has come from the New Hampshire Disabilities Rights Center, the New Hampshire Association for Justice and the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire.