Another year, another record-setting slate of entries for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. This year’s buddy-comedy-themed challenge drew 136 submissions, but what really stands out this year is the quality, not the quantity. Production values are consistently high, which is really saying something insofar as all these films were scripted, shot, edited, and post-produced in only five days.
As is our custom, we watched at least part of every film. Also per custom, we’re focusing our attention on the EDFC shorts that feature limb difference on camera, not only because those films hold the most interest for our readers but also because amputee filmmakers routinely get nominated for (and win) EDFC awards. That being said, we strongly encourage you to go beyond the films listed here and sample as much of the field as you can. We enjoyed some truly outstanding entries from filmmakers with non-amptuee-related disabilities. If you only watch one movie that’s not reviewed below, we recommend Wheelchair Club. You can browse the entire set of 136 movies at this link.
If you haven’t seen Melanie Waldman’s interview with EDFC founder Nic Novicki in Episode 2 of Little Miss Representation (which Amplitude co-produces), check it out here. Our thumbnail reviews below are presented in the order that we saw the films. Award winners will be announced on May 9.
Uncommon Thieves
What it’s about: Freaky Friday meets Groundhog Day and lower-limb loss meets Crohn’s disease in this highly entertaining mashup, in which the friendly burglars next door get their paws on a homeowner’s weirdly glowing antique and end up swapping disabled bodies with each other. We also detected (or imagined) grace notes of the Pink Panther, Pulp Fiction, Bonnie and Clyde, The Getaway, and other classic Hollywood caper flicks.
Who’s involved: Co-written and co-starring George Kaplan, an EDFC rookie who describes himself on Instagram as “writer, editor, producer, occasional actor, overthinker.”
Call the A.D.A.
What it’s about: If prosthesis-wearing Agent Badgely and wheelchair-cruising Agent Dawson must serve as the sole enforcers of the Americans With Disabilities Act—and they must—then shouldn’t they at least get real guns and badges, instead of the squirt-pistols and plastic shields they’ve been issued? Given the government’s lack of accountability and winking apathy toward the ADA, it’s no wonder people with disabilities end up as jaded as Andy Sipowicz. . . . but also just as resourceful and relentless.
Who’s involved: Perennial EDFC participant Angel Giuffria co-produced and co-stars.
Best Friends Forever
What it’s about: When we’re tempted to violate our own principles, especially on matters close to our souls—like, say, authentic casting of characters with disabilities—only a true BFF can wrestle us back into line and pay the price for doing so. Co-stars Rachel Handler and Sofiya Cheyenne totally sell the premise with their terrific (and hilarious) chemistry, then add some unexpected twists that bring depth and poignance to it. Very impressive to pack all that into just five minutes. There could be the seeds of a longer narrative in this short sketch.
Who’s involved: Handler, a multi-time EDFC award-winner, writes, produces, and co-stars.
Emergency Contact
What it’s about: When it comes to wringing laughs out of one half of a phone conversation, nobody will ever top Bob Newhart. But Kiersten Kelly had us LOLing with her spot-on timing, gesticulations, expressions, and vocal range. We found it hard to believe there wasn’t an actual person at the other end of Kelly’s smartphone, ducking out of her in-progress bank robbery / hostage crisis to reminisce about old sorority hijinks and unpack lingering conflicts and jealousies.
Who’s involved: Model, singer, and activist Kiersten Kelly makes her first EDFC appearance.
Broblocks
What it’s about: Buddy comedies work because they replicate the dynamics of the sibling relationship. Two people thrust together by happenstance have to figure out how coexist without anyone getting killed; they typically find solidarity, in spite of themselves, by uniting against a common enemy. Most buddy comedy protagonists are full-grown adults who revert to childhood behaviors in each other’s presence. Broblocks cuts to the chase and casts real children (and real siblings) as the leads, enacting truer-than-life kid antics. The result is sublime.
Who’s involved: Colin Ashe and his brother, Fion, co-star.
Neighborhood Heist
What it’s about: This entry falls into the Breaking Bad subgenre of buddy flicks, wherein health problems, high bills, and the overall messiness of life drive two regular people over to the dark side. Tee and Kimmie ain’t exactly Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, though. And it’s hard to stay inconspicuous when the mastermind of your crime ring has a visible limb difference and rides a knee scooter. But hey, underworld empires aren’t built overnight.
Who’s involved: Second-time EDFC contestant Tiana Ferrell co-wrote, directed, and co-stars.
Would You Like to Buy a Landline?
What it’s about: Vinyl made a big comeback. So did Polaroid cameras and bell-bottom jeans. AM radio and cuckoo clocks have never really left. So it’s only a matter of time before every hipster is rocking a hard-wired phone, right? Seems like a no-brainer . . . . if you’re a sheet-music salesman. Of course, the road to easy money and big profits is never smooth. Especially not when you’re a nondisabled person who sees ableist obstacles at every turn. If you transported Dwight Schrute and Michael Scott into the Glengarry Glen Ross universe, Landline is about what you’d end up with.
Who’ve involved: Lee Cleaveland, a 2023 EDFC nominee for Best Writer, co-wrote and co-stars.
Watch Would You Like to Buy a Landline?
Breaking In
What it’s about: So here’s an etiquette question: You’ve spent months planning an outing with your best bro for some very important bonding time, only to have your bestie show up with his wife’s cringey, friendless brother. Should you let this loser tag along? If you don’t, you’ll consign your buddy to an indefinite sentence in his wife’s doghouse. But if you relent, all three of you might end up with even worse sentences to an even worse house. What’s a true friend to do?
Who’s involved: Co-produced and co-starring former EDFC Best Film winner Sommer Carbuccia.
Lawn Bros
What it’s about: Ever wonder what it would be like if Cheech and Chong (or Beavis and Butthead) starred in a remake of Rear Window? Wonder no longer. This comedy-thriller drops a couple of cheerfully stoned slackers into the midst of a murder scene, in which the victim is—well, was—in possession of one of the protagonists’ most indispensable head-shop purchases. Can they get it back without being caught and packed into a suitcase, piece by piece? We won’t spoil it for you.
Who’s involved: Second-time EDFC entrant Nickolas Main co-stars, co-wrote, and co-directs.
Disabled AF
What it’s about: This is decidedly not a comedy, but it stands out as perhaps the most forceful statement in this year’s field. Through a series of connected but disjointed impressions, this short viscerally portrays some core emotional truths about disability—the ongoing sense of unreality, of constantly being gaslit (even by close friends), of being asked to justify every decision and adhere to expectations imposed on you by other people. Preserving one’s identity in the midst of all this is a moment-by-moment battle. It’s not for the weak. Neither is this powerful film.
Who’s involved: Model and singer Marsha Elle co-stars in (we think) her first EDFC role.
Everyday Mermaid
What it’s about: It’s a shame the EDFC doesn’t include a “best song” category, because this entry would run away with the honor. You’ll appreciate the song (and the film) more if you know that the lead actor is one of the most accomplished amputee performers in history, a true pioneer who has spent decades blazing new trails and opening new doors for performers with disabilities.
Who’s involved: The multitalented Anita Hollander, currently the chair of SAG-AFTRA’s national disability committee, wrote and stars.