Cinema Touching Disability Film Fest Seeks Student Shorts

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The Eyes of MeWhile volunteering for the SCARE for a CURE haunt last year, I was intrigued and amazed by the visually impaired students who also volunteered for the event. The students had their own scene which focused around an audio studio. One student, Johnathan, was also filming the haunt experience. Although he could not see the activity going on around him, he thoroughly enjoyed the narrative and "boo scares" as much as our typical guests. Turns out that John is an aspiring filmmaker who won the high-school division award in the 2007 Cinema Touching Disability Short Film Competition.

The competition is part of the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival, which returns in its sixth year to continue its mission of raising awareness of disabilities. The film fest will be held November 6-7 at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar.

This year the festival will feature the documentary The Eyes of Me, an up-close look at four high-school teens who have lost their sight. The film premiered at SXSW earlier this year -- Filmmaker magazine published an interview with director Keith Maitland.

Also featured at the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival this year is A Possible Dream: The Angela Friedman Story, about a young woman living a normal life as a TV and film actress despite the fact that she has Down's Syndrome and doctors had recommended that she be institutionalized.

The Cinema Touching Disability Short Film Competition presents awards for the best disability-related films made by students. The winners from each division -- secondary school and college -- will win cash prizes and their films will screen during the festival. Registration and submissions are due by October 1. Details for the competition are available at their site.