Diego Ramos Bechara editor The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, in which participants write and produce short films that promote disability inclusion, returns for its 11th consecutive year and will run from April 2-7.
This year, in addition to the traditional awards of cash, computers and other technology, subscriptions, mentorships and screening opportunities, the EDFC will award ten $15,000 grants for the winners of the best film, best director, best writer, best actor and best editor categories to develop their projects further.
Five additional grants will be awarded to past EDFC participants, with all winners announced at the EDFC awards ceremony on May 9 at Sony Pictures Studios. “Hollywood has only begun to tap into the power of inclusion and to showcase this significant segment of our society,” Mark Whitley, president and CEO of Easterseals Southern California, said in a statement. “The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge gives filmmakers, actors and their crews an opportunity to change the way we all experience and understand disability.” For the challenge, filmmakers have five days to write and produce short films (one to five minutes) based on the year’s announced genre.
This year’s genre – buddy comedy – was announced at the Sundance Film Festival. The films are required to promote disability inclusion and are judged in the aforementioned five categories, with one other category for the best awareness campaign.
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