Lights, Camera, Inclusion

At Futures Explored’s new Concord studio, the air hums with possibility. Cameras roll, lights flicker, and a young director named Dylan Lee calls “Action!” For him, this is more than a hobby. It’s the life he once thought out of reach. “I’ve directed three short films already,” Dylan says. “When I first joined, I never thought I would ever be a film director.”

Dylan discovered Futures Explored in high school, first through its summer film camps, then through its imaginative and inclusive Creative Arts and Media program. Over four years, the nonprofit has become his creative home. He’s learned to collaborate, gained confidence in directing, and even discovered a gift for writing. “My time here has allowed me to really express myself and actually turn my ideas into reality,” he explains. 

Futures Explored Creative Arts and Media program offers state-of-the art classes and workshops across a wide variety of disciplines for artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In their new studio, professional filmmakers and artists guide students through directing, acting, editing, scriptwriting, even securing permits for shoots. The program recently expanded to digital art, photography, and animation – responding to what students had long asked for. “For those students, this is a dream come true,” Dylan says.

The new building brims with energy, though resources remain tight. Some rooms are still divided by curtains, and equipment is stretched thin. “More equipment is always appreciated,” Dylan notes, “because we could work on bigger and better films to really bring our ideas to life.” 

Each class offers students new options, more chances to find a path that fits. For many, it’s not just art; it’s independence. For parents, the program is equally transformative. “As a parent of a young adult with a disability, my greatest wish is simple: for my child to be happy, to be included, and to feel like he belongs,” says Ann DeRose, a board member whose son also attends. “Futures Explored makes that possible. They break down barriers that too often keep people with disabilities on the outside looking in.”

Beyond Concord, Futures Explored serves over 500 individuals across Northern California through programs in Personal Wellness, Community Connections, and Employment & Education. Whether it’s a sensory room for someone with high physical needs, a volunteer shift at a food bank, or a job coaching at a new workplace, each service is rooted in the same ethos: empowering choice, building inclusion, and fostering lives of meaning.

At the Concord arts hub, that ethos is visible every day. What was once a “program,” as Dylan puts it, is now “more like a community.” And when the cameras roll, that community is telling stories the world has long needed to hear.