Registration to participate in the 2018 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge for aspiring filmmakers, which takes place April 13-15, closes on Wednesday, April 11.

During the event, registered filmmakers are given 55 hours to write and produce short films (3 to 5 minutes in length) that Help Change the Way We View Disability, according to a news release.

A panel of entertainment industry talent will then judge the submitted films in four award categories: Best Film, Fimmaker, Actor, and Awareness Campaign.

Finalists will be announced and screened at the Bentonville Film Festival (May 1-6), which champions inclusion in all forms of media; will be invited to an exclusive roundtable discussion with agents at United Talent Agency; and will receive a 1-year subscription to Variety magazine.

Winners, who will be announced at a red-carpet event May 10, hosted by United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills, will be awarded industry mentorships, including a top prize of a lunch meeting with a Universal Pictures and/or Focus Features production executive; the opportunity to screen at the Los Angeles-based HollyShorts Film Festival (August 9-18), an Academy Award-qualifying competition; $1,000 grants provided by Universal Filmed Entertainment Group toward their next production; Dell computers; a full, 1-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud; and a Nike gift bag with assorted products, including a pair of shoes from the new FlyEase line, continues the media release, from Easterseals Southern California.

Launched in 2013 by Nic Novicki, an actor, comedian, and producer with a disability, Easterseals Disability Film Challenge aims to address the underrepresentation of people with disabilities in media by giving filmmakers—with or without disabilities—the platform to collaborate, tell stories that showcase disability in its many forms, and support Easterseals’ goal to change the way disability is viewed.

[Source(s): Easterseals Southern California, PR Newswire]