‘No one tells you how to be an adult’: Concord father-son duo debuts disability and adulthood film on PBS

Samuel Habib co-directed

Samuel Habib co-directed "The Ride Along" with his father. Daniel Habib—LikeRightNow Films

Samuel Habib (left) is accompanied by his brother, Isaiah Habib, in getting a Boston Red Sox tattoo.

Samuel Habib (left) is accompanied by his brother, Isaiah Habib, in getting a Boston Red Sox tattoo. Dan Habib—LikeRightNow Films

By JANE MILLER

Monitor staff

Published: 07-19-2025 5:01 PM

Concord father-and-son duo Dan and Sam Habib will debut their feature film “The Ride Ahead” next week, which is an extension of their Emmy award winning short film “My Disability Roadmap.”

The film was initially released last year at a variety of universities and film festivals, but on Monday it will air at 10 p.m. and then will be available for public streaming on PBS until September 19.

This is the second film that Dan and Sam have co-directed, which was filmed concurrently with “My Disability Roadman.”

“The Ride Ahead” is a coming of age film that follows Sam, who lives with Cerebral Palsy, as he explores “love, tattoos, and other disabled things.”

“The natural thing when people get into their mid 20s is to separate themselves from their families,” Dan said. “We want him to have things in his life that a lot of people want, like dating and relationships. It's just a lot more complicated for him.”

The film delves into the complications that Samuel faces as he strives to become more independent from his parents. These include getting on dating apps, discussions of moving out of the family home, and receiving some valuable advice from a series of mentors who’ve already gone through the experience of transitioning into adulthood with a disability.

Among these mentors is the recently deceased Judy Heumann, a civil rights activist who served in the Clinton administration and was appointed by President Obama as the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights. Another mentor, Ali Stroker, is an actress and Tony award recipient who will be hosting a watch party on zoom this Monday starting at 4:30 pm.

Other mentors included Maysoon Zayid, Bob Williams, Andrew Peterson, Keith Jones, and Lydia X.Z. Brown

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The interviews were conducted exclusively by Sam, addressing questions that he says many kids his age living with disabilities had as well.

“Young people with disabilities who have seen the film so far have told me that they have the same questions as I do about dating, sex, moving out of their own family’s home, how to respond when people talk down to them, work, and college,” Sam said. “That means a lot to me.”

“No one tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability,” Sam said.

Sam credited Zayid with delivering some of the most moving advice he received from a mentor in the film.

“The advice I got from Maysoon was: ‘You are not alone. Find your community,’” Sam said. “That was powerful advice because I’ve always had a strong community, starting with Beaver Meadow Elementary School.”

The young filmmaker says he is continuing to find his community at work at the Westchester Institute for Human Development, here in his hometown, and at college.

Since the film’s release, Sam transferred from Concord’s Community College (NHTI) to a four-year institution at Southern New Hampshire University, where he is working towards a degree in history.

One of Dan’s first films was a documentary aptly titled, “Including Samuel,” which chronicled the Habib family’s effort to include Samuel in every aspect of their lives here in Concord. The community itself has helped Sam to where he is now, his father said.

“Without having been included in regular classes, without having been included in all the extracurricular activities, and really so many teachers that believed in him and set high expectations, just educators in general, he wouldn't be where he is now,” Dan said. “He wouldn’t be in college. He wouldn’t be a filmmaker.”

Dan and Sam have invited people to host their own watch parties of “The Ride Ahead,” or to purchase their own “education kit” alongside the film. Dan said the purpose of the film is to invite discussion and raise public awareness to create better lives for young disabled adults.

After the two months of streaming on PBS, the film should become available on other platforms like Amazon, Apple, and iTunes.