We are pleased to announce that “Mark – A Call To Action” will be making its U.S. Premiere as part of the Bryn Mawr Film Institute Summer Series in June! There will be a special post-screen conversation with Dr. Paul Bookman (Mark’s Father) and Rachel Bookman (Mark’s sister) along with director Ron Small. Tickets are […]
Board Member Nagase Osamu brought Sue Swenson into the conversation with GLIDE FUND – we are reminded that there are many people who willingly advocate and dedicate their lives to create positive change for people with disabilities. We wanted to share this message from Sue following the tragedy that took place July 26, 2016. Published […]
(At Mark’s apartment in Mizue, Edogawa, on February 22, 2015. Mark is on the right and Nagase is on the left. Courtesy of Nagase.) “Wow, you’re working on Shingon Esoteric Buddhism!” I first met Mark Bookman in 2014, when he was studying in Japan as a Fulbright Fellow. He told me about his research at […]
Glide Fund, Board Member Nagase Osamu has an impressive resume and his dedication to raising the voices of those with disabilities, in our opinion is unmatched. The Premiere of “Mark – A Call To Action” was a pivotal point for the friendship that Mark and Nagase shared over the years. At the time of filming, […]
The Disability Studies in Japan project provides a variety of pedagogy and research resources for the study of disability history and activism from premodern to contemporary times. Resources include suggested reading lists, lesson plans, disability-related terminology, information on advocacy and research groups, and more. This project was created to honor the memory of Mark Bookman […]
One of the many purposes of Glide Fund is to highlight stories from around the world relating to overcoming disability. And this story involves my dear friend Bob Sambol from Dallas, Texas. Bob Sambol is a famed Dallas Restaurateur and we’ve been friends since 1993 when he opened Bob’s Steak & Chop House. Fast forward to today […]
Multiple technologies made it possible for me to teach in the classroom. Most obviously, my Permobil wheelchair, but parallel parking next to the board to write was a challenge. Instead, I used the Permobil detachable tray on my wheelchair as a teachers podium and the built in USB charger on my wheelchair for my Apple […]
Where to begin? It’s been almost a year since Mark and I last talked. We spoke about his upcoming move to Kyoto, the documentary, GLIDE, and what my next steps should be since I was leaving my job as a high school biology teacher due to repeated exposures and pneumonias. Mark advised that I create […]
The path to producing “Mark – A Call to Action” began around a year before we shot the first frame. Though Mark was 30 at the time, I had actually not seen him since he was 5 and Paul was instrumental in reintroducing us in the hopes he would be okay with a documentary about […]
When producer Ron Small contacted my son two years ago about being the subject of a documentary regarding his life and work with disability rights and advocacy, I had no idea what this would encompass and where it might lead. After the initial filming was done in Tokyo in the Fall of 2022, I began to see what Ron was attempting to… READ MORE
