A new film starring Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver kicks off the third edition of disABILITIES, a film festival and speaker series designed to educate viewers, challenge stereotypes and celebrate the contributions to popular culture of people with disabilities. Carrie-Anne Moss co-stars in Snow Cake, a drama about the friendship between a high-functioning autistic woman (Weaver) and a man (Rickman) who is traumatized after a fatal car accident. USA Today calls it “a film imbued with humanity and powerful performances.” Following the film Stephen R. Anderson, Ph.D., Executive Director, Summit Educational Resources, Inc., and an expert on autism, will lead a discussion on that disability in today’s world. The series continues on Saturday with Gregory Hines in The Tic Code, an acclaimed drama about Tourette’s Syndrome, and Unforgotten: 25 Years After Willowbrook, a documentary about the infamous state school that was closed after accusations of abuse in 1972. For more information go to www.disabilityfilmfest.org or call (716) 816-7261.

Snow Cake, Oct. 12,7pm; The Tic Code Oct. 13. 12:30pm; Unforgotten: 25 Years After Willowbrook, Oct. 13, 3:15pm. Market Arcade Film and Arts Center., 639 Main Street (855-3022).