Writer/director Luke J. Salewski's 5-minute short film Audio Description captured the top prize of Best Film at the 2024 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, an annual film competition started by actor/comic/writer Nic Novicki 12 years ago to change the way the world defines and views disability. 

Audio Description stars Lee Pugsley as a lonely visually impaired man who makes a wish on his birthday and finds his world turned upside down by an unexpected encounter. Since its win in the film challenge, the film has screened at festivals across the country including my own hometown Heartland International Film Festival and this weekend's Slamdance in L.A.  

The film challenge is a time-limited filmmaking challenge in which the film's tackle a certain genre while centering around disability. Those with disabilities must be engaged with the film either on-screen or on the production team and the challenge has led to more than a few disabled creatives gaining careers in the film industry. Pugsley, himself visually impaired, is a delight as Eric, who arrives at his monotonous call center job where he begins to realize that he's hearing the audio description for the film provided by Duncan (Jonathan Regier). Despite Eric's please to just go away, Duncan reveals that he's unable to depart until the film's plot finds closure - in other words, Eric has to find a friend. 

More than a few hijinks will follow over the course of the film's light but effective five-minute running time. In addition to Pugsley's wonderful performance, Jonathan Regier shines as the audio describer. Salewski was a finalist in the competition in both the directing and writing categories, a clear indicating that Salewski, a film challenge veteran, is a talented filmmaker with a terrific vision he brought nicely to life here. 

In full disclosure, I'm one of the judges for the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and a film journalist with multiple disabilities myself. I celebrate authentic representation in film and I celebrate when that representation results such a fine short film as Audio Description.

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic