The 23rd Annual Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival

The Coalition of Texans with Disabilities brings back the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival to the Austin Public Library Central Library on Saturday, September 5. This is the 23rd annual edition of the festival, which has grown into the largest and longest-running cinematic celebration of disability in Texas. The night is built around a program of short films by independent filmmakers, so you'll see a variety of stories rather than one long feature.

The screenings are only part of the evening. The festival spends the rest of the night connecting the audience with the local disability advocacy community, so it's as much about the people in the room as it is about what's on the screen. That community side is where the festival gets its name—it's about more than just watching films; it's about the people behind them and the community they're part of.

That community is the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, the organization that puts the whole thing together. Their mission is to ensure that all Texans with disabilities may work, live, learn, play and participate fully in the communities of their choice. The festival is one of the ways they do that, giving a platform to independent filmmakers and bringing people together around those stories.

They've also put a lot of thought into making sure everyone can actually be there. The venue is wheelchair-accessible, the films are captioned, and audio description and ASL interpretation are available. Doors open at 5 PM at the Central Library, 710 W. Cesar Chavez St., and admission is on a sliding scale starting from $5.