u/Defiant-Albatross347

The other night, my Easterseals Disability Film Challenge film "Back to the Dark Ages' that I shared here last month was named the winner of the Best Awareness Campaign Award. As a nominee, we got a screening at the Newport Beach Film Festival. As a winner, we get screenings at the HollyShorts Film Festival at the famous Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and at the Heartland International Film Festival, both major international festivals. Last night's award ceremony in LA was attended by executives from Sony, NBC Universal, and more. So many more people who need to hear it will see our message.

I was able to attend virtually and deliver my speech to the theater via video link, so below is what I said. I cannot thank this community enough for your support because without you, we would not be able to get this story to 30,000+ people online, plus all those in the industry and at festival screenings we will be able to speak to because of this. The entire team thanks you for your support.

Here is a transcript of my speech:

Wow, this is incredible. Thank you to Nic Novicki and the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge team for giving us the platform, and my brilliant team for all of the hard work, passion, and talent you contributed to this project. And it’s truly an honor to be in such amazing company—Aly, Steven, Juan, and all 144 filmmakers who entered this year’s Disability Film Challenge.

When I set out to make a film about a character with Long COVID—who masks for half the film—I did not expect to be sitting here accepting an awareness award. Because the truth is, this is still something many people don’t want to talk about.

We’ve seen very little coverage of the ongoing pandemic and the disabling effects it continues to have on millions of people. Yet Long COVID is the fastest-growing disability in the world—and it’s not rare. At least 1 in 20 people in the United States are living with it.
So this campaign was not about winning an award, it was about shining a light on a topic that hasn’t had much representation in the entertainment industry before this year’s film challenge, and about giving voice to those who are the most left behind.

And then something magical happened. Throughout our awareness campaign we have heard from so many people about how much this little 5 minute film resonated with them. People living with Long COVID, people who still take precautions for other reasons, and people who have long moved on. Over 30,000 views of our film in a few short weeks later, here we are.

I hope this sends a message to the industry: audiences are ready for these stories.

This award is for everyone who helped bring this story to life—and for anyone out there who has ever felt alone and needed a friend.

You are seen. And your story matters.

So I bought tickets to an evening event that morning. The tickets were labeled ADA and wheelchair accessible, which is exactly what I needed, but when I got the ticket transfer, I noticed that the seats were not in a row marked as being wheelchair accessible so I emailed the venue and they confirmed the seats that Seatgeek sold me as "ADA wheelchair accessible" are in fact not wheelchair accessible.

Despite reaching out to Seatgeek hours before the event and sharing the venue's email confirming the seats were not accessible, the Seatgeek customer service agent working on my ticket issue wasted precious hours trying to ask the seller why the tickets were not indeed accessible rather than helping me ensure I could safely and comfortably attend the event in my wheelchair. Despite several follow up messages, I never heard back from Seatgeek customer service before or after the event. Beware of the guarantee, it's a complete lie and they can't even bother ensuring the accommodations required by a federal law. Never again.