Sofiya Cheyenne

It was a fantastic week of screenings and groundbreaking conversations at the @reelabilitiesny film festival. Every day I arrived at the festival, I felt like I was among family. Seeing so many colleagues I know that are raising the bar in the #film, theater and arts industries. Joining with producers, #filmmakers and artists that have a passion for re-framing disability in art and #media is like no other!! We show up, we take care of each other and we invite everyone into the conversation. One of my favorite moments that sticks out, is during a panel about #Casting - we see an amazing example of interdependence when @ellejonescasting and @dpdcasting have an exchange about opening Elle’s water bottle for her. I share this because it’s important to acknowledge - it’s #disability culture. Even with our allies and friends here, we all get it. At reelabilities, it’s family and we’re growing. Please consider donating to this amazing film festival and message me if you have any questions or want to get involved. I appreciate every moment of last week and look forward to re-connecting with all of the new friends I made. Thank you to reelabilities and all the staff, culture workers, interpreters and volunteer supports that showed up. Thank you for making space for my films and for inviting me into a panel. It was thrilling! Let’s keep making change.

Officially putting my “director” hat on in this debut ! It’s been a true joy to be in space with the dwarfism / LP community as part of this project. Working with and inviting in the dwarf artist community and being a part of this project has been personally fulfilling and empowering in many ways. I wish all sets, productions and spaces can center accessibility and disabled bodies like we did. “HOW WE LOOK” is a special look into the historical and societal impacts we all have played a part in. Without passing judgement and leading with love, we hope this act of owning, uplifting & reimagining our forgotten history in all of its complexity fosters dwarf identity and pride. The films will be world premiering as part of the @reelabilitiesny film festival this year on April 27th at 6pm. Producer/ Director @sofiyacheyenne @julieforrestwyman Cast @aubreysmalls @kueenkatrina @markpovinelli @c_kittrell @chrisdonovan.nyc @tinawonglu_ @sarahfolkins @matthewaugustjeffers Key Film Crew @livalloyd @jbennett.dp @loiameera @jonnamckone @- Rachel Villegas, production sound @leycomas ana_novacic_ @debra.aliengirl @theoctopusproject @Imrsv_sound @ggarciapardo @rda.color Funders @cwfcollab @princessgraceus @baryshnikovartscenter @nyscouncilonthearts @nyfacurrent #Dwarfism #LPArtist #Disabled #Disability #disabilityawareness

Here we GO! Tonight starts the 18th annual @reelabilitiesny festival . I am a proud member of the selection committee of the festival and know first hand the amount of work and dedication that goes into this festival to push against boundaries and pave the way for the entertainment field to re-frame disability and “call-in”  the community. This year one of my films got picked to be part of the shorts category and I am feeling so grateful for this opportunity! This week at the festival, I’ll be at Opening Night (tonight) on April 23rd and the two day Industry Summit on April 27-28th. My partner @julieforrestwyman and I are thrilled to share our continued work together on April 27th at 6pm to screen our shorts “How We Look”.  I also will be participating in various workshops throughout the summit and be part of the panel “Crew Up / Crip Up - The Reality of Set Work” on April 28th at 3pm. Please join us at the annual ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York between April 23-30, 2026! Join us for the world’s largest showcase of accessible international cinema by and about people with disabilities, reframing existing disability narratives through groundbreaking films, riveting conversations and fierce advocacy!  #ReelAbilities #DisabilityInclusion #RFFNY26 #ReframingDisability #FilmFestival RFFSummit

HELLO WORLD - after a years-long intentional process of creation, the HOW WE LOOK PROJECT will World Premiere at @ReelAbilities Film Festival New York ! HOW WE LOOK is a collection of three narrative short films about dwarf culture and the little people (LP) experience, created and performed by LPs. Each film centers one act of image-making, from medical imaging , to sideshow photography, to renaissance portraiture. If you’ve seen @thetallestdwarffilm - these films are what we were making in the workshop that the doc chronicles - come see the films - we’ll be there in person! MONDAY APRIL 27 6 pm in the Reel Expressions Shorts Program Ticket link in bio Written/Produced/Directed by @sofiyacheyenne @julieforrestwyman Featuring @aubreysmalls @kueenkatrina @markpovinelli @c_kittrell @chrisdonovan.nyc @TinaWongLu @sarahfolkins @matthewaugustjeffers Funded by @cwfcollab @princessgraceus @baryshnikovartscenter @nyscouncilonthearts @nyfacurrent Producing Team @livalloyd @loiameera @jonnamckone @shaleecehaas [email protected] and @ggarciapardo Production Sound Rachel Villegas Production Design ana_novacic_ Edited by @debra.aliengirl Original Score @theoctopusproject Sound Mix @imrsv_sound Colorist - @rda.color Motion graphics @sneakylittlesisterllc Key Art - Margaret Drew @mdphoties

What a week it’s been!! Working with @cleveplayhouse and @seattlerep on the production of #freakthemighty . A new musical in development! Such an incredibly smart cast is ready to take this to the stage !!

Tonight’s the night! 📺 WMM release THE TALLEST DWARF (dir. Julie Forrest Wyman) premieres TONIGHT on PBS Independent Lens! What does it mean to belong in a world that wants to change who you are? Tune in and find out. Check your local listings for air times. 🔗 in bio. @julieforrestwyman @jonnamckone @sofiyacheyenne @thetallestdwarffilm @independentlens

📺 Clear your Monday night plans NOW — WMM release THE TALLEST DWARF (dir. Julie Forrest Wyman) premieres April 6 on PBS Independent Lens! 🏆 Already making waves with a shortlist nomination for the 2026 All Inclusive Award at Dok.fest München AND an Unstoppable Feature Grand Jury Prize Honorable Mention at Slamdance, this deeply personal documentary follows filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman as she uncovers a life-changing diagnosis and finds her place within the little people community. It asks who gets to define normal and who gets left out. Check your local listings for air times. THE TALLEST DWARF is available to book or purchase through Women Make Movies. @julieforrestwyman @sofiyacheyenne @thetallestdwarffilm @independentlens

It’s #BenLayDay today!!! But tomorrow will be even better - we have our final in-person screening of @thetallestdwarffilm before PBS @independentlens broadcast! (More on that soon!) come on down to @dctvny cinema at 7pm . Tickets and access info is in the DCTV event page link in my bio. Message me if you’ll be there ! Can’t wait to see you!

Hi friends, It’s been an exciting and busy time for The Tallest Dwarf documentary with continued festival screenings, the start of some exciting impact and engagement work, and preparation for our national PBS broadcast in April!! I wanted to share another opportunity to see @thetallestdwarffilm on March 18th 7 pm at DCTV Firehouse Cinema (87 Lafayette St). This event was postponed from Feb to March due to the inclement weather in NYC! This time I will be moderating our pre & post show alongside Alice Sheppard!! We are so excited to bring in an embodied experience to the viewing of this film. So come on down if you are available and join us for this special in-person screening!!! We have an access survey for folks to fill out their access needs if they’d like. We want to do our best to make this a disability positive space. The screening will be open captioned with CART/live captions during the intro + Q&A. Please reach out if you need more info or plan to come! I hope to see you there!!

Tonight is the night - the LA PREMIERE!  WMM release THE TALLEST DWARF (dir. Julie Forrest Wyman) lights up Slamdance 2026 in the Unstoppable Features category and we are READY. This is bold, joyful, rebellious filmmaking at its best. Julie and a powerhouse crew of dwarf artists take the screen to reclaim their bodies, their histories, and their spotlight — laughing, dancing, creating, and refusing to be reduced to anyone else’s narrative. Experience it with a crowd: 🎬 TONIGHT, Fri, Feb 20, 8:00 PM – Summer Chastant & David Pierce Theater, DGA Theater 2 🎬 Tue, Feb 24, 3:15 PM – Landmark Sunset, Hollywood Theater 4 We will see you there!  @julieforrestwyman @thetallestdwarffilm @sofiyacheyenne

You’re all my valentines! The Browns made it out to a family party this past weekend. So fun to see the kids really enjoy dancing and being with family. Love these kids ! How lucky am I ?!

As I clean up all these materials I have to share that it’s been an awesome two weeks working with the freshman at Westbury HS! Feeling so full of gratitude and creativity working with #ThePeaceProject and @patchoguearts . Myself and my partner @adrianajdevers created a 2 week residency where the students explored “the unseen” side of themselves. What are societies expectations of us ? And how can we reveal our true selves? Such a brief time for such a deep topic but the students made some amazing pieces and presented beautifully. Thank you Westbury HS, thank you peace project, thank you Adriana for entrusting me with this workshop. It’s been a pleasure and joy!!!!