March 28, 2008 Press Release

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Habib Joins the Institute on Disability as Filmmaker in Residence

Durham, N.H. - Dan Habib, the director of the award-winning documentary film “Including Samuel,” joins the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability as Filmmaker in Residence. After spending the last 20 years of his career as a photojournalist, most recently as the photo editor for the Concord Monitor, Habib will be making the career change to pursue his passion: creating documentary films focusing on the critical issues at the intersection of disability and contemporary society.

Shortly after their son Samuel was born with cerebral palsy, both Habib and his wife Betsy attended the Institute’s NH Leadership Series, a seven-month program which supports self-advocacy and leadership skills for individuals with disabilities and their family members who wish to affect change at a personal, community, and statewide level. Habib now credits his drive to focus on and work toward Samuel’s inclusion to his time spent at the NH Leadership Series. His film and personal labor of love, Including Samuel, grew out of this passion.

Habib will spend the next year promoting Including Samuel throughout New Hampshire and nationally. He will then continue making films on disability related topics.

Since its debut in November 2007, Including Samuel has received national acclaim. The film, which examines the educational and social inclusion of youth with disabilities, is built on efforts of Habib and his family to include Samuel in all facets of their lives, a journey that transforms each of them. Including Samuel also features four other families with varied inclusion experiences, plus interviews with teachers, parents, students, and disability rights experts.

Including Samuel has won the annual Positive Images in Media award from TASH, an international group committed to the full inclusion of people with disabilities, and was named Best Documentary at the 2007 Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival. Including Samuel has also been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, as well as in the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. Exceptional Parent Magazine called it a “must see” film.

Prior to joining the staff of the IOD, Habib served as photography editor of the Concord Monitor for 13 years. Among his many accolades in that position, Habib was named the national Photography Editor of the Year for papers with a circulation under 100,000 in 2006 and 2008. He has been honored as New Hampshire Photographer of the Year six times, and he was one of 10 photojournalists from around the world selected for the 1995 World Press Master Class in Amsterdam. Habib’s freelance work has appeared in numerous publications, including Time, Newsweek, Yankee, Life, Boston Magazine, Mother Jones, and The New York Times.

Habib and his wife, Betsy, live in Concord, New Hampshire, with their sons Isaiah, 11, and Samuel, 8.

To book a screening of Including Samuel, please contact Mary Ann Allsop at 603.228.2084. For more information on Including Samuel, including the film trailer, screening dates, DVD sales, and more, please visit www.includingsamuel.com.

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