Easterseals Disability Film Challenge to Announce 2023 Winners at Sony Pictures Studios

Topic: Events / Public Notices
Author: Easterseals Southern California (ESSC)
Published: 2023/04/27 - Updated: 2023/10/10
Publication Type: Announcement / Notification
Contents: Summary - Introduction - Main - Related

Synopsis: Easterseals Southern California announces finalists of the 2023 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge (EDFC) celebrating advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in the entertainment industry. During the Film Challenge, registered filmmakers are given a span of five days over the designated timeframe to write and produce short films (three-to-five minutes), based on the year's announced genre, which promote disability inclusion. Winners receive invaluable access to entertainment leaders and resources, opening the door to an industry notoriously difficult to enter, as well as receive a variety of prizes to help them achieve their career goals.

Introduction

Easterseals Southern California (ESSC) has announced the finalists of the 2023 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge (EDFC), which is celebrating a decade of leadership this year of advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in the entertainment industry. Winners are going to be announced at an orange-carpet awards ceremony to be held May 4 at Sony Pictures Studios.

Main Digest

The featured genre for the 10th anniversary Challenge was romance, which was revealed at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film challenge has received a record-breaking number of entries every year since its inception, with 115 films submitted in 2023 from nearly every state and from around the globe, including submissions from Austria, Bolivia, Canada, England, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Timor-Leste and The Netherlands.

Celebrity Presenters/Attendees Include:

Two-time Oscar-winning writer/producer/director Peter Farrelly (the upcoming Ricky Stanicky, Loudermilk, Greenbook, Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber), Academy Award-winning filmmaking team Phil Lord + Chris Miller (Cocaine Bear, Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse, the Lego movies, The Last Man on Earth, 21/22 Jump Street), actress, host and activist Jameela Jamil (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, DC League of Super-Pets, Marry Me, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, The Good Place), director Kat Coiro (the upcoming CBS Matlock reboot starring Kathy Bates, She Hulk, Dead to Me, Marry Me), actress and founder of Pepita Productions Stephanie Nogueras (Killing It, Switched at Birth), actress Jamie Brewer (American Horror Story), actress Naomi Rubin (As We See It, Atypical, Dear Evan Hansen), actress Madison McLaughlin (Arrow, Chicago P.D., Supernatural), actor Ryan Lane (Switched at Birth), Top-10 charting, Grammy-nominated singer and actress Shanice (currently portraying Michelle Obama in 44 at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood), actress, author and lifestyle influencer Lolo Spencer (The Sex Lives of College Girls, Give Me Liberty, Firebuds), actor Danny J. Gomez (New Amsterdam, NCIS: Hawai'i) and actress Sue Ann Pien (As We See It).

Finalists announced at the NewFilmmakers Los Angeles April film festival, which had an infocus on disability - were selected in each of the following categories: Best Film presented by Warner Bros. Discovery, Best Director presented by NBCUniversal, Best Editor presented by Adobe, Best Actor presented by IMDb, Best Writer presented by Netflix and Best Awareness Campaign Award presented by Prime Video.

The finalists are:

Best Film presented by Warner Bros. Discovery

Best Director presented by NBCUniversal

Best Actor presented by IMDb

Best Editor presented by Adobe

Best Writer presented by Netflix

Best Awareness Campaign Award presented by Prime Video

According to the CDC, 25% of U.S. residents, more than 61 million people, have a disability, making it today's largest minority population. Yet according to a Nielsen study released in 2022, about 95% of characters with disabilities in Hollywood's top TV shows are played by non-disabled actors and, during the 2019 Oscars - a year when disability inclusion was reported at its highest to date - only two of the 61 nominees and 27 winners who played disabled characters were actually disabled.

"As the entertainment industry strives to build a more diverse and inclusive workplace, we must keep disability in the conversation," said actor, comedian, producer and disability advocate Nic Novicki, founder of the Challenge. "I created the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge to help accelerate change within Hollywood and to provide filmmakers and actors with tangible work experience and with an opportunity to tell authentic stories - and once again, I am humbled by the overwhelming response. We are proud of the amazing films produced over the past 10 years, viewed around the world, and the successes our participants have gone on to achieve."

Since the Film Challenge was launched in 2013, aspiring filmmakers have created and submitted more than 600 short films. Previous winners and participants have gone on to achieve great success within the industry, landing roles in or directing segments of such popular films and TV shows as New Amsterdam, Superstore, The Good Doctor, Loudermilk, Dahmer, Marry Me, Moxie, Special, Good Trouble, So Help Me Todd, Best Foot Forward, As We See It, Growing Up and Lucky Hank. Additionally, Challenge films have gone on to win awards at an array of other film festivals; and participants have earned accolades and grants from prestigious organizations around the world (including the AT&T Underrepresented Award), as well as given Ted Talks and lectured about their experience at Harvard.

"Hollywood has only begun to tap into the power of inclusion and to showcase this significant segment of our society," said Mark Whitley, President and CEO of Easterseals Southern California. "The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge gives filmmakers, actors and their crews invaluable entertainment experience and a chance to network with industry professionals. Likewise, it's an opportunity for studios, networks, guilds, talent agencies and people working in entertainment to get involved to change the way we all experience and understand disability."

During the Film Challenge, registered filmmakers are given a span of five days over the designated timeframe to write and produce short films (three-to-five minutes), based on the year's announced genre, which promote disability inclusion.

Winners receive invaluable access to entertainment leaders and resources, opening the door to an industry notoriously difficult to enter, as well as receive a variety of prizes to help them achieve their career goals, including:

The 2023 Film Challenge was judged by a diverse group of influential entertainment industry talent, including: Nicole Castro, Managing Director, Hollyshorts Film Festival; director Kat Coiro (the upcoming CBS Matlock reboot starring Kathy Bates, She Hulk, Dead to Me, Marry Me); Jerome Core, head of U.S. & Worldwide DEIA Content at Amazon Studios & Prime Video; director and activist Jenni Gold (CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion); Tim Gray, Sr. VP, Variety; Stacey Wilson Hunt, Contributing Editor, The Hollywood Reporter; filmmaker and activist Jim LeBrecht (Crip Cramp, Battlefield Earth, Pitch Black); actor, producer and activist Lawrence Carter Long (The Projected Image: A History of Disability on Film on Turner Classic Movies); Col Needham, founder and CEO of IMDb; three-time Emmy nominated journalist Allison Norlian; actor Mark Povinelli, President, Little People of America; journalist Richard Propes, The Independent Critic; journalist Cara Reedy (CNN, NPR, The Guardian); Gil Robertson, President, African-American Film Critics Association; journalist Lindzi Scharf (Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, WWD); Nigel Smith, News Editor, Movies, People magazine; fashion stylist and author Stephanie Thomas; Film Independent Nominations Director Jennifer Wilson; and actor and comedian Danny Woodburn (Mirror Mirror, Jingle All the Way, Seinfeld).

The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge is made possible by the generous support of: Adobe, Dell Technologies, Golden Globe Awards, IMDb, Intel, Microsoft Teams, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Prime Video, SAG-AFTRA, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Easterseals Disability Film Challenge

As someone with a disability, actor, comedian and producer Nic Novicki launched the Disability Film Challenge in 2013 in response to the under-representation of talent with disabilities both in front of and behind the camera. Novicki created the challenge to give aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their work and provide them with meaningful exposure. In 2017, Novicki joined forces with Easterseals Southern California - the nation's leading nonprofit supporting people and families with disabilities - to expand the event, now known as the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge.

Attribution/Source(s):

This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World due to its significant relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Easterseals Southern California (ESSC), and published on 2023/04/27 (Edit Update: 2023/10/10), the content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For further details or clarifications, Easterseals Southern California (ESSC) can be contacted at easterseals.com/southerncal/. NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.

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