New film spotlights San Antonio theater company for people with special needs

Julian Chapa really, really wanted to act.

Specifically, he wanted to play the Beast in the Disney musical "Beauty and the Beast." Julian, who has Down syndrome, had been in plays in high school, but always in the background, and his parents were pretty sure that would be the case for non-school theaters, too.

San Antonio Film Festival

What: More than 180 films will be screened during the 32nd annual film festival.

When: Tuesday-July 26.

Where: Films will be screened at five locations: Radius Center, 106 Auditorium Circle; City Base Cinemas, 2623 S.E. Military Drive; Gunter Hotel, 205 E. Houston; Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle; and The Rock at La Cantera, 1 Spurs Way.

Admission: VIP badges cost $139.00; weekend badges cost $99.99; and single day badges cost $49.99. Individual tickets range from free to $21 at safilm.com and at the door.

Highlights 

"The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo": Michael Walker's coming-of-age film is about a high schooler who falls hard for a Spanish exchange student. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Radius Center. $13.15.

"Misty Must Die": Stephen Allen Gutierrez' horror movie is about a teen's efforts to figure out the identity of the killer who is stalking a high school graduation class. 7 p.m. July 22, City Base Cinemas. $13.15.

"Center Stage PossABILITIES": Taylor James Johnson's documentary follows Center Stage PossABILITIES, a San Antonio theater program for adults with special needs, as they pull together a show. 12:30 p.m. July 23, Radius Center. $8.01.

 "$10 Cowboy": Patrick Heaphy's documentary follows Charley Crockett on his "$10 Cowboy" tour of Texas, including a stop at Floore's Country Store in Helotes. 7 p.m. July 23, Radius Center. $13.15.

"Ali Eats America": The documentary, made by co-directors and producers Greg Morris and Roush Niaghi, is about Ali Allouche, who wearied of hospital food after spending his junior year of high school in chemotherapy. So he and his mom take a road trip to eat at various restaurants across the country. 7 p.m. July 24, William B. Tobin Room, Gunter Hotel. $13.15.

"Brats": Andrew McCarthy's documentary features himself and several fellow members of the Brat Pack as they talk about the impact of that label on their careers. 7 p.m. July 25, Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, Tobin Center. $21.

Awards ceremony: The festival will salute filmmaker Gregory Nava - whose films include "Selena," "Mi Familia" and "El Norte" - with its Lifetime Achievement Award. It will be presented by Suzette Quintanilla, the sister of the slain Tejano star Selena who now oversees Q Productions. In addition, McCarthy will be given the Maverick Award, and San Antonio artist Robert Tatum will receive the Patron of Cinema Arts Award. 5 p.m. July 26, Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, Tobin Center. Free.

So they created an opportunity just for him.

His mom, Leah Chapa, took everything out of the family's living room and dining room to create a performance space. She wrote a 40-minute adaptation of the story titled "Beauty and the Bible," then pulled together costumes, props and sets. The Chapas invited about 50 friends and family to come over and watch the show, in which Julian got to play his dream role.

"He loved it," said dad Raul Chapa, who played Gaston in the show. "He got to bow and get his accolades."

After he and his wife learned about a church in Dallas with a theater program aimed at adults with special needs, she went to check it out. Leah Chapa was struck not only by the performance, but by the community the actors had formed, something the couple had struggled to find for their son.

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When she got home, the Chapas decided to create a theater program like that for Julian and others who wanted to get onstage but hadn't been able to find a place where they could do that. The couple founded Center Stage PossABILITIES, a faith-based theater company for adults with special needs that generally stages one show a year at University Methodist Church. The eight-year-old troupe's shows blend biblical and pop culture elements.

The company's story is captured in "Center Stage PossABILITIES," a new documentary by director Taylor James Johnson. It will be screened July 23 as part of the San Antonio Film Festival.

It is one of more than 180 films that will be shown during the 32nd annual festival, which takes place Tuesday through July 26 at venues around town.

Highlights include a tribute to director Gregory Nava pegged to the 30th anniversary of the release of "Selena" as well as a flashback to the Brat Pack era with "St. Elmo's Fire" and "Pretty in Pink" star Andrew McCarthy.

The San Antonio festival is one of a handful that "Center Stage PossABILITIES" has been selected for, including two in South Africa. It also was one of the award winners at the debut outing for the local Elemental Film Festival earlier this month.

The film was shot last year as the company worked on "No Strings Attached," a play that wove together the parable of the prodigal son with "Pinocchio" as well as online culture. As with all of the company's productions, each role was tailored to the actors' abilities. Julian, 22,  played both God and a fitness influencer. He said he liked the latter character's muscles, and that it was his favorite role so far.

"Center Stage PossABILITIES" includes some interviews with the Chapas and others, but Johnson mostly takes a cinéma vérité approach, capturing the actors, director Nikki Young and the crew as they pull the show together over the course of six months.

The supportive environment of the company comes across vividly. 

In one of Raul Chapa's favorite moments, a young actor backstage during the performance whispers to everyone who passes him after their time in the spotlight "I heard you" and "You did awesome."

MORE THEATER: Magik Theatre re-opens following renovation

"Part of the beauty of what we do is they get to be seen and heard," he said. "It was almost a metaphor, that particular moment."

The documentary grew out of some video elements that were woven into "No Strings Attached." Johnson made those videos and also filmed behind the scenes footage for social media posts and promotional materials.

"I just kept coming back and kept getting great footage, and I said, I think we have something here," he said. "I got to see them grow every day, and it got better and better. Nothing was perfect. There were some downfalls, and I got to see them rise up and keep going. So I just had to be there."

In a way, he hasn't left. Johnson now is working with the company on a fictional film about a special needs choir that gets lost on the way to a performance. There is no script. Instead, the actors created their characters, and their choices are driving the story.

The troupe has been shooting it on the weekends for the past few months. It's slated to wrap in August and will premiere in either late November or early December.

The company hasn't settled on a title just yet. The two possibilities in contention are "Lost in the Woods" and "As We Are."

Chapa is hoping that the film will reach a broad audience and inspire others to create similar opportunities for people with special needs.

He's also hoping that both films share a little bit of what he gets to see in his son and the other participants in Center Stage.

"There are so many beautiful experiences that you witness," he said. "Having a child with special needs, you see how the world treats them, see how the world sees them, even if they give them the time of day. Being a part of this and seeing them in a different light - being able to show people their ability, their personalities, their humanity - it's very powerful."

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