Posted by Larry Gleeson
Written by John Wildman
Cameron Mitchell’s DISPOSABLE HUMANITY set to make its World Premiere at Slamdance 2025
With Sundance around the corner, the brand new appearance of the Slamdance Film festival in Los Angeles has begun to give rise to announcements of films set to make their debuts at the fest in February. One of those anticipated world premieres will be Cameron Mitchell’s poignant documentary feature Disposable Humanity which looks at the dark history of the Nazi Aktion T4 program, where hundreds of thousands of disabled individuals deemed “unworthy of life” were systematically exterminated.
Executive produced by Steve Way (Co-star of Hulu’s Ramy), Disposable Humanity follows Cameron Mitchell’s family, Disability Studies scholars and filmmakers who have researched the Nazi Aktion T4 program since the 1990s. Through conversations with memorial directors, disabled people, and relatives of T4 victims, they uncover the horrifying truth: that the Nazi Aktion T4 program, was in fact the program where the Nazis trained killing staff and designed the apparatus of mass murder that led to the Holocaust. Disabled people were the first victims to be killed under the Third Reich and in this investigative documentary, we see how this history has been covered over and erased from international public memory.
Mitchell said, “We are thrilled to be making our debut at a film festival, like Slamdance, which is noted for showcasing work that goes beyond basic expectations, challenges audiences on the perspectives of disability they had prior to entering the theater and offers opportunities to foster vigorous discussion about that work and the films’ subjects.” He added, “Disposable Humanity is not just a film; it is a film counter-monument. By confronting the brutal legacy of the Aktion T4 program, we seek to raise awareness about the contemporary implications of viewing individuals through a lens of disposability. It is crucial to confront these histories of erasure to ensure that such atrocities never occur again and to continue to question the dividing lines between people with disabilities and those without.”
The documentary features a diverse array of international voices (Robert Jay Lifton, author of the Nazi Doctors; Patricia Heberer Rice, Senior Historian at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum; and Susanne Knittel, author of The Historical Uncanny among them) articulating the lived experiences of individuals facing societal neglect, including those living with disabilities, mental health conditions, and systemic discrimination. With powerful testimonials and striking visuals, Disposable Humanity underscores the urgent need for compassion and understanding in evaluating human worth.
The filmmaking team consists of accomplished Disability Studies scholars, artists, and activists who bring both academic rigor and personal passion to the project. According to David T. Mitchell, a producer, writer, and original researcher of the film, “The expertise of the diverse participants ensures that the film will educate viewers about people in psychiatric institutions and the historical injustices they face and also engage them in critical conversations around the rights and indignities spawned by societal neglect, abuse, and extermination involving disabled individuals today.”
Mitchell, Way, additional participants in the film, and advocates for the right of people with disabilities, will attend the screening and participate in a post-screening discussion that will be aimed to use the post-screening Q&A to promote a call-to-action toward a community-driven approach to addressing human rights and social justice.
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place, February 20-26, 2025, in Los Angeles, Calif., and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which also hosts a screenplay competition, workshops, screenings throughout the year and events with an emphasis on independent films with budgets under US$1 million.
