"Notarized" director/actor Natalia Rubio on this entry for "dramedic" 2026 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge
"And (why) that's movie magic!"
(To avoid spoilers, check out “Notarized,” just over four minutes, before reading.)
By D Menzies
It’s spring and the annual Easterseals Disability Film Challenge is back, with this year’s theme being “dramedy.”
The film challenge invites participants who have a disability to be either on screen or behind the camera and to, over the course of about a week, produce an original short film with a few specific guidelines.
Then it’s the awareness campaign stage, which lasts until Sunday, April 12, this year, in which all of the films are available to be screened on the Easterseals YouTube page and shared meanwhile.
In “Notarized,” Emilia Gonzalez (Rubio) is applying for a placard so that she can have more accessible parking accommodations. But Nelva the Notary, played by Kristen Drenning, feels she has to do her utmost diligence in getting medical documentation beyond Emilia, there, in person, making her limb difference clear as possible.
The dramatic comedy may seem inherent, but Rubio, Drenning and company add a lot of nuances that make it sparkle.
“Notarized” speaks to the unique challenges of having a limb difference but, as all of the disability film challenge’s films do, if one is open to it, there’s a universal theme of navigating the world from a vantage point in which someone can be more vulnerable than whatever is supposed to be typical.
“This is my first time participating in the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and it’s actually my first time ever making a film,” Rubio says. “I follow several disabled artists on Instagram and had seen them post about the challenge last year. I really loved the concept of the challenge for multiple reasons. The main reason being that it supports people with disabilities through its mission and by connecting and showcasing disabled artists. I had always wanted to make my own films, but I never knew where to start.”
“Oftentimes, it’s easy to feel alone when dealing with things that other people you know aren’t.” - Natalia Rubio
The challenge’s guidelines and time-frame restriction really helped her lock in, Rubio said.
“The day before the challenge submissions closed I thought ‘Let’s do it!’ And I reached out to my friend Nathaniel Archer, who produced, among many other things, the film. Once he was on board, I knew we could figure everything else together. He helped me from start to finish and I could not have asked for a better partner for this. This experience taught me so much about what it takes to plan and create a film.”
In “Notarized,” Rubio plays Emilia dealing with her plight in a way that feels straight even during the bigger comedic moments, but there’s also subtleties that are honed, in part, by experience.
“I love comedy,” Rubio said. “I started my acting journey by learning improv at the Hideout Theatre in Austin, TX. I immediately fell in love with the art form and it plays a huge role in my life. My favorite thing in the world is to get to be silly with my friends.”
Rubio was excited by the film challenge’s genre being dramedy this year; it allowed her to play with that dynamic she loves in addition to the more serious elements, she said.
“I’ve always believed comedy is best when based in truth,” Rubio said. “I wanted my character to be grounded in reality to showcase the true feelings of having to go through this process. Sometimes it’s hard not to laugh when life keeps throwing obstacles at you, though. In real life, when I called my doctor about writing a note for me and they told me he had left the clinic — he just transferred, don’t worry (see film) — I cried in my car and then immediately started laughing.”
