Actor, Producer and Comedian Nic Novicki launched the Disability Film Challenge in 2014 in response to seeing disabled people underrepresented both in front and behind the camera. Novicki created the challenge to allow aspiring filmmakers to showcase their work and provide meaningful exposure. In 2017, Novicki and Easterseals Southern California joined forces to expand the challenge, now known as the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge.

“The film challenge is a weekend-long filmmaking contest, open to all, that provides a platform for new voices in the entertainment industry. Each year, aspiring storytellers are prompted to creatively write, produce and complete a short film. Challenge winners receive invaluable access to entertainment professionals, opening the door to an industry notoriously difficult to enter.” As stated on the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge website states.

In addition to open doors, winners will receive a variety of prizes to help them achieve their career goals, including,

• $2,000 grants provided by NBCUniversal
• Dell Technologies computers
• One-year membership to IMDbPro, including access to the IMDbPro Discover tool, which empowers members to find other professionals to hire and collaborate with, based on a variety of key IMDb data, experience and expertise. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, IMDbPro is the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals.
• The winning films will be highlighted in a video playlist on the homepage of IMDb, the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows and celebrities
• Screenings at numerous Academy Award-Qualifying festivals, including the Heartland Film Festival, HollyShorts Film Festival, Bentonville Film Festival and NewFilmmakers LA
• One year membership to Film Independent
• One-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud – the platform for creating, collaborating, and inspiration consisting of apps, services and community to help you unleash your creativity
• Mentorship meetings with entertainment industry executives and talent

One of the teams competing for the grand prize is led by Andrea Jennings with her film “Skyward”. Jennings is an Actress, consultant, public speaker, commissioner, and founder of Shifting Creative Paradigms Entertainment and Productions™. Jennings “envisions a world where underrepresented individuals in music and media such as people with disabilities, will one day be depicted as strong leaders.”

“1 in 4 Americans identify as disabled, and disability intersects with all other demographics, yet we are the least represented in television and film. This is why I decided to join a team to support The Easterseals Film Challenge’s goal and help create a mini-short film called Skyward and become the change I wish to see. What can you do to create change? By viewing, supporting and liking our film on YouTube, you are helping the visibility of our grassroots efforts to create change. Our film features authentic disabled actors. It is women-led and features a Black woman in a leadership position as Director and Producer. This film features various disabilities and [languages], including ASL. The film highlights universally designed infrastructures, hybrid school models and equitable learning for all. This year’s contest’s theme was Super Hero, which is a bit tricky because this theme can fall into that trope that disabled people are for inspiration which we are not. So we had to come from a sarcastic angle and have the characters do something unexpected that cancels that stereotype yet have a bit of fun simultaneously,” says Jennings.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennings and the Skyward cast and crew;

How and why is Easterseals Disability Film Challenge breaking the myth that it always takes more time to hire disabled talent?

“This is a film challenge, and we were up for the challenge! We only had a few days to complete this project, and I was the producer. Because of strict and necessary Covid-19 restrictions and unforeseen circumstances, we lost our DP, backup DP, and our director. I took over all three positions (director, producer, and director of photography). I completed the project from the time I was given the script in about 45 hours, with production team members and actors shooting from multiple locations. It is a testament to our dedicated team that Megan Clancy and Mara Clancy put together. When I became fatigued, my team took over the next tasks because we had a system in place, which is the making of great teamwork. Mara and Megan are excellent producers and actors as they coordinated well with talented Actress Natalie Oden although Natalie was across town. I had to take my director, producer, and DP hat off to act in a few scenes and provide a voice-over. The editor and Actor Randy Vinneau quickly jumped into action to race against the clock to get everything to our composer Art Peterson and Sound Designer Tyler Struck. We felt the message and impact of this short film were our driving force to complete the film despite the barriers. So essentially, we are dispelling the myth that working with people with disabilities is time-consuming or costly. Well, there goes that myth! People cannot make excuses on why they can’t cast or hire us. I love what Nic Novicki is doing to help dispel that myth with this contest. People like Eileen Grubba, Gail Williamson at KMR Agency and Keely Cat Wells of C Talent are driving that point home by advocating authentic representation in entertainment. I also love how Black leaders such as Lachi of Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities RAMPD, Entertainment Professional Tatiana Lee, and Stephen David Simon of ReelAbilities work hard to keep disability culture at the forefront in entertainment. The great thing about The Easterseals Film Challenge is it also challenges the film and television industry to think deeper. If our team created a short film with such an impactful message without a budget or expensive equipment, imagine what my team and others could do with an equitable opportunity, funding and proper support? I believe that is one of the underlying messages of The Easterseals Film Challenge,” says Jennings.

Why is it essential to increase the visibility of disabled professionals in the entertainment industry, both in front and behind the camera?

Actress Megan Clancy says, “I grew up Deaf, and I only knew about Marlee Matlin and Bernard Bragg and Linda Bove as Deaf actors in front of the camera. I never knew anyone who worked behind the camera until I moved to Hollywood to pursue acting. I have faced people who told me I wouldn’t be successful because of my Deafness. I did not listen to them. Instead, I focused on networking with the right people who have a strong mentality to create more opportunities for Disabled professionals to be both behind and in front of the camera. I feel this mission is important since millions of people have disabilities around the world. However, there are still no “plentiful” professionals who have disabilities in front or behind the camera. This affects how stories are told, and we, the disability community, can connect with the audience by our own unique experiences and stories that we have gone through in life. We as disabled professionals, can help Hollywood to open their minds about what stories are told. With the help of Lights! Camera! Access!, Tari Hartman, David Zimmerman, C Talent, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kostur, Nic Novicki, and many other talented professionals, there have been many more opportunities for Deaf and the disabled professionals to be behind the camera as writers/producers/directors and in front of the camera both as on-screen actors and voice over artists. As a disability community and Deaf community, we have unique stories to be told—like the Black community has and other communities as well.”

Why is it essential that we have non-disabled allies within the industry pushing the needle forward for disability representation?

Clancy states, “It is important to teach filmmakers that there are Deaf and disabled people who are also teachers, lawyers, doctors, parents, caregivers, musicians, etc. New Amsterdam is a perfect example of this, and I truly hope to be on this show since I love how this show incorporates and embraces diversity. I do not like to see disabled performers as just “victims” in various projects—they can be superheroes and regular people living their lives. I know the non-disabled community and the disabled community need to work together to develop such stories that simply blend in disabled and non-disabled actors and crew to work together to tell a great story. For example, Jevon Whetter and Delbert Whetter, both Deaf brothers, were the ASL consultant for Dreamworks’ Madagascar: A Little Wild TV series which used a Deaf actor (Shaylee Mansfield) as a voice-over artist incorporating ASL in the episodes. I loved how Delbert and Jevon worked with the Dreamworks crew to learn how to use a Deaf performer to show ASL as an art form in the TV series. This will truly inspire kids, both Deaf and hearing. Also, there have been opportunities for Deaf performers to be in Marvel movies like Lauren Ridloff being one of the superheroes in Eternals. Lauren was simply one of the superheroes in the story. That’s something we want to see more of. That type of story will reach out to different audiences in a positive way.”

A fellow Actress in Skyward, Natalie Oden, says, “We need all the help that we can get to make our voices heard, and those who have the platform and connections can make it happen.”

Actor and Editor Randy Vinneau says, “Allies are the only ways in. Without their cooperation there is no peaceful path to better representation.”

Mara Clancy, Producer and Actress says, “Everyone should be for inclusion. Inclusion is part of the underpinnings of a just society. All persons should be allied to help push forward to more representation of the disabled community, as done with BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Communities. When we are for inclusion, we raise up each other.”

What would it mean to you and your team to win the challenge?

Vinneau mentions, “that would be absolutely incredible. It would be a testament to what we overcame to complete the film. And I’m not talking about anybody’s disability. I’m talking about the editors, directors, and DP all dropping out at the last minute. I think most other teams would have thrown in the towel at that point. So, completing the challenge and winning would be something special.”

To finish, Oden says, “no matter what challenges you may face, [whether] it’s filmmaking or in your personal life, don’t give up on what you love doing, and who knows, the more you keep on going, it could lead to a road of something wonderful.”

The winners of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge will be announced on May 5th at www.disabilityfilmchallenge.com.