Toronto-based film and accessibility critic Michael McNeely, who is deaf-blind, has faced many frustrating customer-service challenges over the years.

Toronto-based film and accessibility critic Michael McNeely, who is deafblind, has faced many frustrating customer-service challenges over the years.

‘Look beyond a label and find a human being underneath,’ says deafblind filmmaker Michael McNeely.

What does it feel like to be autistic? It’s a question raised by several films in ReelAbilities, a small festival of documentaries, features and shorts by or about the disabled. The second-annual Toronto festival, the first international edition of a U.S. multicity effort launched in 2007, includes films about a blind dancer and a deaf football team – as well as several about the experiences of people on the autism spectrum.