Contact notice: we have had some trouble getting all of our emails at filmfest@txdisabilities.org. Please reach out to Louise Ho at lho@txdisabilities.org if you need to get in touch!

CINEMA TOUCHING DISABILITY FILM FESTIVAL AND SHORT FILM COMPETITION

The Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival and Short Film Competition aims to change the picture of disability through film. The top cinematic celebration of disability in the state, the Festival features the best work of independent filmmakers from around the world, from documentaries to animated shorts to the avant-garde. The two-day event provides a unique and entertaining way to positively and accurately view disability. Films with accurate and interesting representations of disability shown at this festival counter the negative stereotypes promoted by movies with demeaning, discriminatory and false portrayals of disability and people who have disabilities.

You can submit your short film about disability to be shown at the 2024 Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival.

AWARDS

Awards for each division:
First Place: $500.00 USD
Second Place: $250.00 USD
Third Place: $100.00 USD

Awards are announced and given at the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival. They are issued in US currency on a check from a bank in the the USA. The check will be mailed to a filmmaker if he or she cannot attend the Festival. The filmmaker must send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities (CTD) to receive the award through the mail. If the filmmaker has trouble receiving the award: CTD may be able to issue a payment through Paypal. The filmmaker must contact CTD within two weeks of hearing about the award to receive payment this way.

IF THE FILMMAKER DOES NOT RECEIVE HIS OR HER AWARD
They have 60 days after learning of the award to contact CTD. The filmmaker cannot receive the award if he or she contacts CTD after this deadline.

The top three winning films in each division will be featured at the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival. The films also have a chance to win the Audience Favorite Award.

Rules for Submission

ANNUAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION

This is a competition for the best short film about, starring, or made by a person who has a disability. There are separate divisions for documentary and non-documentary films. The best three films from each division will win awards and screen at the Festival.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM DIVISION
Submissions to the documentary film division must be between 5 and 20 minutes long and be about disability, a person who has a disability, or be made by a person who has a disability. Every submission to this division must meet the following criteria:
1. the film Must be received by 12:00am Friday, August 2, 2024.
2. The film must have open captions.
3. The Film must either be about, star a person who has a disability, or be made by a person who has a disability.
4. The film must not be either demeaning or discriminatory about disability or people who have disabilities.
5. The film must not have been previously submitted to the Cinema Touching Disability short Film competition.

NON-DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM DIVISION
Submissions to the non-documentary film division must be between 5 and 20 minutes long. They can be a historic drama, narrative, comedy, music video, or animation short film. They must be about disability, a person who has a disability, or be made by a person who has a disability.

All submissions to this category must meet the following criteria:
1. the film Must be received by 12:00am Friday , August 2, 2024.
2. The film must have open captions.
3. The Film must either be about disability, star a person who has a disability , or be made by a person who has a disability.
4. The film must not be either demeaning or discriminatory about disability or people who have disabilities.
5. The film must not have been previously submitted to the Cinema Touching Disability short film competition.

OPEN CAPTIONS

Your film must have open captions to enter the Cinema Touching Disability short film competition. Open captions make films accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPEN CAPTIONS AND SUBTITLES

Open Captions, unlike subtitles, describe important background noises.. Subtitles are a transcript of what the characters in a movie say while open captions narrate both dialogue and crucial background noises. Open Captions do this to provide accessibility for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Open captions need to meet several requirements. They must be in a font that is easy to read. Lucida Grande, Arial and Helvetica Neue, and APHONT are recommended fonts because they are very legible. Open captions must also describe important background noises. This can include things such as the sound of a door opening or a conversation in the background. A noise should be described in open captions if it is important to the film.

There also must be a strong contrast between the color of the font and the color of the background. White text on a black background is usually used while some people prefer to use yellow for the color of the font with a black background. The text must also scroll at a pace that can be easily read.
Guidelines for open captions can be found on the website of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) https://www.nad.org/resources/technology/captioning-for-access/what-is-captioning/.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Marj Kleinman

    We were unable to attend Cinema Touching Disability, but were very honored to have our film, "Stoop Chat with Jimmy & Shanaya" featured in the festival. We are also grateful to be one of the winning films this year and that a festival exploring disability is celebrated in such a beautiful way.

    October 2024
  • Cory Reeder

    I just got back from attending CTD in person, and WOW what a fest. Such a kind, strong, supportive, creative community in Austin. Met many creative locals, stayed well informed, and was supported by the CTD staff, William and Dennis. The projection of my film was great, and the event does a wonderful job of helping out-of-town filmmakers feel right at home. AND, Austin is a great city to visit - so make a week of it.

    November 2023
  • Greg Moran

    Great festival with great communication. Unfortunately we couldn’t attend from Australia but felt very grateful to be selected and receive second prize for our film Culicidae. Great prize money too.

    November 2023
  • Cinema Touching Disability showcases a great programme of films with strong links to disability. The festival has a strong commitment to challenging disability stereotypes and showing work made by or starring disabled people. Communication is always great from the dedicated team. I have yet to attend the festival but would love to in the future.

    November 2021
  • During this time when none of us can gather and enjoy movies the way we like. enjoy doing. This festival was a welcome change to see movies and still feel like we were all in the same room! I had a great time the films that I saw were wonderful examples of storytelling! This festival is on the list to come back to.

    November 2020