Emergency Plan: An Easterseals Disability Film Challenge Masterpiece
DBY (Dateability): Hi! Please share a little bit about yourself and how you became a part of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge.
AP (Anna Pakman): My name is Anna Pakman, and I’m a lifelong storyteller and person with a disability (I grew up with Cerebral Palsy). I’ve worked in the TV industry and have long been an advocate for disability representation in the media, but I didn’t start making my own films until I first entered the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge (EDFC) in 2020.
Now, instead of just commenting on how there should be more films that center the disabled experience, I had a chance to be a real part of the solution by creating my own. I got hooked, and I’ve now completed my sixth EDFC short, Emergency Plan.
DBY: This year’s Disability Film Challenge theme is thriller and suspense— what was your initial reaction to finding out?
AP: Honestly? I was terrified! I’m a comedy writer, so I wasn’t sure about doing something outside my wheelhouse. But “challenge” is right there in the name, and I decided to go for it — to explore this different side of my creativity and show people I could do something serious too.
I feel like the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge is like going to filmmaker gym. I’m now confident enough in my ability now as a filmmaker to take on a serious topic and do it justice — and I can’t say that was the case two or three years ago.
DBY: What was the inspiration behind Emergency Plan?
AP: A major inspiration was the L.A. fires and some of the really sad, unfortunate situations where people with disabilities actually died because emergency services didn’t get to them in time.
I have so many friends in L.A., so I was following it closely and feeling quite helpless being in New York. Then a friend who was writing an article for CNN asked me to help source stories, and that conversation sparked something. It was right around the time the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge theme was announced, and it got me thinking — maybe this could be the story.
Because honestly, this is a story that keeps repeating itself, right? Not just with the L.A. fires, but with the North Carolina floods, Hurricane Sandy here in New York, 9/11, various wars, and of course the pandemic.
It’s a problem that repeats itself not just because of the nature of disability — making it harder to evacuate or access resources in an emergency — but also because of the systems in place. Who gets prioritized in those systems, and who doesn’t?
I also wanted to show a relationship we rarely see on screen: two people with disabilities in a partnership. That alone escalates the stakes. I know several couples like that in New York, and even on a good day, getting around is tough. How do you fit two power wheelchairs in a taxi? You can’t. So the stakes become that much higher.
DBY: Can you briefly describe your creative process?
AP: Once I have an idea, I like to bring in other people I trust creatively. I have a great writers’ room I’ve worked with on various projects — mostly folks with different types of disabilities, and some who aren’t disabled.
It helps to get different perspectives to make sure the script is tight. With only five minutes to tell the story for the Disability Film Challenge, you don’t have time to waste a single word.
From there, it’s all about assembling the best talent I can for each department to bring that script — and that vision — to life.
DBY: As the writer, director, and producer, what steps do you take to ensure inclusivity in your projects?
AP: I think inclusivity is so important when telling disability stories — or really, any stories about underrepresented communities — because lived perspective changes everything.
For example, it was really important to me this year to have someone on the writing team who could personally relate to Eddie and Jasmine’s relationship. As it turns out, Datwan Cullins, our production assistant from last year is a wheelchair user married to another wheelchair user, and they have a young daughter around Riley’s age. He was promoted to assistant writer/producer for Emergency Plan, and his insight was invaluable.
Our cinematographer is also a wheelchair user, so everything was shot from wheelchair level — which I think really grounded the visuals in the characters’ perspectives.
There’s so much talent in the disability community that involving non-disabled people in our productions is practically our version of DEI, LOL. Their perspectives are important too because I want to create work that resonates with everyone — not just disabled audiences.
We need more stories told through a disability lens because they offer authenticity that today’s audiences are hungry for. This generation is much more discerning when it comes to representation.
Another thing I want to mention — something many productions have sadly abandoned — is what we mean by inclusive. For us, it really means inclusive of everyone. We’re still in a pandemic, and disabled people are still being left behind.
So we implemented a strict testing regimen to reduce COVID risk and allow people who normally couldn’t be on set (due to the lack of precautions) to participate safely.
There’s so much research now showing that COVID can disable anyone, including previously non-disabled people. So as a producer, I feel a moral obligation to do everything I can to protect my cast and crew.
I’m very grateful to Aptitude Medical Systems for sponsoring our COVID testing. They provided us with Metrix tests — which are like having a PCR lab at home. They take just 15 minutes longer than a standard home test but are much more sensitive.
We actually had someone test positive and had to send them home immediately — but that one test potentially protected 14 other people. What people don’t realize is that 40 to 60% of COVID transmission happens before someone has symptoms, so testing on set where you’re together 14-16 hours is essential even if everyone feels fine.
DBY: Emergency Plan depicts a very raw and haunting reality for many disabled people. What can people do to better prepare the disabled community for disasters?
AP: I think there are two parts to this question. There’s what disabled people can do to prepare — which puts the burden on us — and then there’s what systems, governments, agencies, landlords, and building owners can do.
And it’s really at the systemic level where things fail.
I don’t believe disabled people are any less prepared than anyone else. The problem is, we’re not prioritized, and our lives aren’t valued in a way that shows up in emergency planning.
If public transportation isn’t accessible on a regular day, what chance do we have in an evacuation?
If someone relies on a caregiver to get out of bed and the government won’t fund 24-hour care — what happens when that caregiver can’t make it during an emergency?
When Jasmine says, “We’re on our own,” in the film, she’s talking about a real feeling many disabled people live with — a sense of abandonment because we know the system will likely fail us when it matters most and I challenge my colleagues in government and other decision-making roles who can actually do something about this to step up and apply a disability lens to their emergency preparedness work.
I encourage everyone to watch the film and then visit emergencyplanfilm.com to see how you can do more to contribute to the meaningful work being done by non-profits and NGOs in this space.