'Tipping point': Oscars filmmakers hail disability progress

Actor Paul Raci, who is the child of deaf adults, plays an addiction counselor who lost his hearing late in life in "Sound of Metal"

James Lebrecht, a lifelong wheelchair user born with spina bifida, co-directed the Oscar-nominated documentary "Crip Camp"

This year, the Oscars will feature a best picture contender about a drummer with hearing loss, a nominated documentary exploring a hippie camp for disabled youths, and a nod for the first film ever to star a deafblind actor.

"If you look at the Academy Awards this year, the proof is in the pudding," he added, pointing also to Oscar-nominated documentary "Crip Camp."