Full Programme with links

Together! 2018 Disability Film Festival
7-9 December 2018

Outsider by Tom McCarthaigh is in Animate! at 3.15pm on Saturday

Click on the programme links below to find links to the films that remain freely available online.

The seventh annual Together! 2018 Disability Film Festival takes place from 7-9 December at the Old Town Hall Stratford, screening films by Deaf/Disabled filmmakers and films with a strong central Deaf/Disabled character. The Festival is FREE – we even serve you free drinks and snacks – and open to all. Can’t make it in person? Follow the links below to watch films and trailers free online.

Together! 2018 Disability Film FestivalFRIDAY 7 DECEMBER 2018
6-8.30pm: The Social Model + Q & A.
SATURDAY 8 DECEMBER 2018
12pm: What next? Opportunities for Disabled Filmmakers with the BFI, 104 Films and Film London. Lunch included.
1.45pm: ARTISTS FILMS & VIDEOS
3.15pm: ANIMATE!
4.15pm: DANCE
5pm: COMEDY: Deaf Funny 2
6pm: Hearing is Believing
SUNDAY 9 DECEMBER 2018
12pm: FOCUS ON THE WORLD Lunch included.
3.15pm: SHORT DOCS
4.45pm: SHORT DRAMAS
6pm: Freaks


Explaining our F & D ratings systems

Beth Richards’ I hate you jargon is in the Artists Films & Videos programme on Saturday at 1.45pm

The F-system has been devised by Bath Film Festival and is now used by more than 40 international cinemas and film festivals, in order to highlight the contributions made by women to film and where they are being excluded. The Fs are awarded for 1) a woman being in charge, (they might describe themselves as a director, producer or filmmaker, but will have led the project); 2) a woman creating the content, usually by writing the script, but for non-fiction this might be the producer; 3) women are the focus of the film, for example taking a starring role or being the subject of a documentary. Sometimes the same woman will qualify for more than one F, if they have played more than one role in the film.

The D-system has been developed by the Together! 2018 Disability Film Festival and is being used for the first time this week. Based on the F-system, we are still exploring ways in which the contribution of Disabled people in front of and behind the camera, whether or not they are supported and facilitated by other people, can be fully recognized. We award one D for a Disabled person or people being in charge (they might describe themselves as a director, producer or filmmaker, but will have led the project); one D for a Disabled person or people creating the content, usually by writing the script or having the idea for a non-fiction film and developing it; and one D if the film features Disabled people as the main characters or Disability as the subject of the film. We hope the D-system will assist in highlighting the widespread exclusion of Disabled people from the film industry and support the #MakeFilmEqual campaign.

Of 56 films being shown this weekend, 34 (60%) have at least one F rating – women have played significant roles in many of the rest — 16 have 2 Fs; 3 have 3 Fs. All films have at least one D rating: 28 have 2 Ds; 9 have 3 Ds. This means that Disabled people played a role in creating the content of the vast majority of the films. We challenge other film festivals to adopt the D-system.


FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2018 

graphic of a wheelchair user holding a camcorder7pm (doors open 6pm): The Social Model. Justin Edgar. UK. 2018. World Premiere. 66:00. The Social Model explores how Disabled people are portrayed as victims, villains or martyrs in film and television, and how non-disabled filmmakers and actors have exploited negative depictions of impairment to win awards and gain stardom. The film examines the emerging grassroots Disability Film movement in the UK, and how Disabled people are fighting back against outdated and outmoded portrayals of disability.  In English with English captions. Find out more about The Social Model and the #MakeFilmEqual campaign at: https://www.104films.com/ DDD


SATURDAY 8 DECEMBER 2018 

Shooting David Proud’s Alarm with 104 Films

12-1.30pm What next? Opportunities for Disabled Filmmakers introduced by the BFI, 104 Films & Film London. Lunch included. Whether you are an established filmmaker or just starting out, there are a variety of mainstream and specialist funding streams and production programmes that may be able to help. In particular, Josic Cadoret will be discussing the BFI Network Short Film and Early Development Funds, and David Proud will be talking about 104 Films. We are also highlighting other relevant Film Festivals and production schemes within the Festival programme, and welcome contributions and tips from participants.


1.45pm ARTISTS FILMS & VIDEOS

Introverse by Jessie Currie is in Artists Films & Videos at 1.45pm on Saturday.

Moving Wheelchairs. Jemima Hughes. UK. 2016. 00:60. London Premiere. This one-minute celebration of wheelchairs was edited from the ITV Source archive. No speech. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/202301624 FF DDD

Tax On Me. Kiana Kalantar-Hormozi. Scotland, 2017. 03:50. London Premiere. Emerging filmmaker and poet Kiana is one of over 10,000 social care users in Scotland affected by the ‘Care Tax’, which costs Disabled people over £18 million a year in contributions from their earnings and student grants. This film-poem was created at the Media Co-op in Glasgow, with music by the renowned Indian-Scottish hip-hop artist Bigg Taj, finalist in the UK Beatbox Championships. In English with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/218019500 FFF DDD

Car-eoke: The Musical. Beacon Films BFI Film Academy. UK. 2018. 05:26. A downtrodden mechanic for Hi-Hat Motors dreams of being a singer. It looks as though his luck might change, when he meets a stranded customer at the roadside… In English with English captions. DD

TOGETHER WITH DIFFERENT VOICES 2 A neurodiverse film talent development programme in Bristol 2017. http://www.biggerhousefilm.co.uk/differentvoices A biggerhouse film production for 104 films supported by Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund, with BFI’s Film Forever National Lottery fund in association with the Arnolfini.

I hate you jargon. Beth Richards. UK. 2017. 02:26. London Premiere. Beth Richards’ passionate rant against use of jargon, as a corporate meeting gets out of control. “Get rid of the jargon that you speak. On and on and on it goes … For God’s sake, speak in easy English, and make sense!” In English; no captions. Available to watch free online at:  https://vimeo.com/246467274 FFF DD

Introverse. Jessie Currie. UK. 2017. London Premiere. 04:13. “Sometimes the peopled world at large can be a harsh place, and other peoples’ normal the opposite of safe. It means declining parties, because the noise invades your ears and you can’t guarantee that moment of connection.” In English; no captions. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/245967349 FF DD

Family. Rosa Truelove. UK. 2017. London Premiere. 05:07. When Batpig hears that his son Goggs is coming home, he begins to explore the concept of family, making tea, lactation and superpowers. “Lactation is actually the greatest superpower that any people can possess…” In English; no captions. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/245967208 FF DD

The Death of the Internet. Benedict Robinson. UK. 2017. London Premiere. 04:10. “I started my YouTube channel, but they demonetised my video just because I mentioned homosexuality, religion and politics.” A film about unnecessary forms of censorship, and the frustration of dealing with people whose minds are too controlled by the media. In English; no captions. Available to watch free online at:  https://vimeo.com/244686744 DD

TOGETHER WITH SHADOWLIGHT ARTISTS The Shadowlight Artists are a group of artists with learning disabilities based in Oxfordshire supported by the arts charity Film Oxford. The group’s new project Shadowlight Artists: Rising was exhibited in October/November 2018 across two galleries in Oxford, spanning installation, painting, theatrical production, and film. The group have made eight stand-alone films celebrating the group’s creative growth with an artistically ambitious body of new work, featuring documentary, performance, animation and drama. Shadowlightartists.org.uk

Collecting of Memories. Naomi Morris and Mark Hemsworth. UK. 2018. London Premiere. 6:42. Mark Hemsworth has been collecting photographs of particular subjects for many years, including aircraft, sunsets, the moon, flowers, landscapes and birds. Mark has grouped some of these collections for large, framed photographic prints, each made up of 255 individual photographs, for exhibition at part of the Shadowlight Artists: Rising exhibition. The film documents Mark’s process of collecting the photographs, and the memories they represent. In English with English captions. F DD

Blue Sash Window. Lucy Skuce with support from Chris Oakley. UK. 2018. London Premiere. For the Shadowlight Artists: Rising exhibition, Lucy Skuce created an ambitious installation work resulting from her interests in construction and domestic architecture. Blue Sash Window features an imposing sculptural element based around a real sash window, through which we see Lucy in her ideal environment, recreated through video projection, and follow the construction process. This is Lucy’s most ambitious creative project to date. In English with English captions. FF DD

Singles Night – a Writer’s Portrait. Russell Highsmith and Miguel Mocho. UK. 2018. London Premiere. Singles Night is a new full-length, lively and thought-provoking romantic comedy play by Russell Highsmith, which was performed by professional actors over two nights to sold-out audiences at the Old Fire Station Theatre in Oxford in September 2018. The film documents Russell’s work through the writing, rehearsal and performance of Singles Night. In English with English captions. DD

In conversation. Richard Hunt and Sonia Boue. UK. 2018. London Premiere. After winning the Shape Open Exhibition, Richard Hunt decided to expand his practice to embrace elements of sculpture and textured surfaces. Continuing his successful collaboration with autistic artist Sonia Boué, his installation work for Shadowlight Artists: Rising exhibition explored Richard’s interest in water, recreating a seashore scene utilising painted rocks and a boat. Each of the rocks represents a song, and has a unique iconography often relating to popular culture, in particular musicals. In English with English captions. F DD

TOGETHER WITH SUPERFEST Superfest International Disability Film Festival was founded in 1970 and is the longest running disability film festival in the world. Co-hosted by San Francisco’s Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State for more than 30 years, Superfest is one of the few festivals worldwide that is accessible to disabled filmgoers of all kinds.

Stim. Marrok Sedgwick. 2017. US. 07:00. Winner of SuperFest’s P.K. Walker Innovation in Craft Award. An artistic ode to the practice of stimming, or self-stimulatory behavior, the repetition of physical movements or sounds, or repetitive movement of objects. In English with English captions and audio-description. Available to watch free online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwxGcgsbKko&t=4s DDD

Four Saints Perform an Access Audit. Chris Tally Evans. Wales. 2018. London Premiere. 8:28. In English with English captions. A poetic comedy. Available to watch free online at: https://www.facebook.com/14equalstreet/videos/873893286138307/
F DDD

Being Becoming / Becoming Being. Violetta Liszka. UK. 2018. London Premiere. 7:09. A photograph of the director’s husband from the time of his First Holy Communion at the end of 1950s in Poland shows a boy dressed in black clothes, so different from the white clothes worn by all of the other children. The film explores this further. English captions; no audio track.  FF DD


3.15pm ANIMATE!

Undersea Adventure is shown in Animate! from 3.15pm on Saturday

Seed to Seed. Jemima Hughes. UK. 2017. 02:08. London Premiere. A sand animation in black and white, showing the life cycle of a sunflower, with music by Evelyn Glennie. No speech. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/227147607 FF DD 

Póilin’s travels with M.E. Corina Duyn. Ireland. 2018. 5:50. UK Premiere. “This is a short film of how Puppet Póilin came into being and the travels we had in her first six months of her ‘life’. She very much embodies my experience of life with M.E. (myalgic encephalomyelitis). I am continuing to tell my experiences through this and other puppets.” English captions; no audio track. Available to watch free online at: https://youtu.be/cYK3cAjbDwU FF DD

TOGETHER WITH OSKA BRIGHT FILM FESTIVAL Oska Bright is a film festival in Brighton that takes place once every two years and highlights the work of filmmakers with learning difficulties. This is the second year that we have programmed work in association with Oska Bright.

Breaking News. Rami Mansour. 2:08. Tune into the weird and wonderful world of Breaking News. Aliens in the local area and zombies taking over the town and watch the Pavillion disappear before your eyes. In English with English captions. D 

Eye TV2. James Kurtze. Australia. 8:03. Eye TV2 is a juxtaposition new media and animated film starring and told through the eyes of Dexter the Black Cat as we are thrust into a 1980s Jega video game. Dexter follows James onto the beach, and suddenly they both find themselves in another world. In English with English captions.

Halloween Massacre. Chris Rumens. UK. 2017. 1:54. Imagine Jack-o-lanterning from the pumpkin’s perspective! In English with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INDc8uhc-cs 

Trauma Tales. Lissea Jordan. 2016. 3:09. A three-minute animated film, based on one of my own poems, on the subject of childhood trauma. The film explores the subject through an individual child’s internal fairy-tale world. In English with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/165316128 F DD

Odd Funeral. Felix Swahn. Sweden. 2016. 13:01. An old woman, a grandma is dying. She wishes to have her ashes spread in the Tatra mountains, the best place of her youth. Her wish is the beginning of an odd road movie to find a good spot for grandma after death. It´s a movie about dying, about reconciliation and about trust. In Swedish with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/169465548 F D

Prickly Pair. Matthew Eggert. UK. 1:40. The cat is snoozing in his garden when the frog hops by and lands on the fountain. The cat creeps up but the frog escapes! Then they come across a baby hedgehog. To help him find his mother they must work together. Can they do it? No speech. 

Tomboy Episode 2. Stuart Maiden. 11:00. A mysterious alien by the name of Sky falls to Earth and is found by Tom, Lily and Old Fred. Sky is hoping to get his quantboard back and return home. Unfortunately, it is on one of Onion and his henchmen’s new battleships. Will Sky be able to return home? In English with English captions. F D

TOGETHER WITH DIFFERENT VOICES 2 A neurodiverse film talent development programme in Bristol 2017. http://www.biggerhousefilm.co.uk/differentvoices A biggerhouse film production for 104 films supported by Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund, with BFI’s Film Forever National Lottery fund in association with the Arnolfini.

The Harmony Cubs. Saul Webbe. UK. 2017. London Premiere. 03:05. Saul takes us through his incredible world of animation and introduces us to The Harmony Cubs who live in a beautiful world without humans … “I’m addicted to animation. I have thousands of drawings. I can’t think about anything else but animation.” In English; no captions. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/246467066 DD

Outsider. Tom Mccarthaigh. UK. 2017. London Premiere. 02.11. Using traditional inking skills, Tom’s animation follows an alien outsider as he travels to earth to try to make a connection. “I really don’t like feeling inferior, no one does! Why can’t I learn like other people can?” English; no captions. Available to watch free online at: In https://vimeo.com/246467958 F DD

Oh Andrew. Jeff Johns. UK. 2017. London Premiere. 02:38. Jeff’s song was especially composed for his uncle Andrew, who was born in the mid 1950s when attitudes to disability were very different … “Oh Andrew, Oh Andrew, I wish I could talk to you…” In English; no captions. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/246264057 DD

TOGETHER WITH SHADOWLIGHT ARTISTS The Shadowlight Artists are a group of artists with learning disabilities based in Oxfordshire supported by the arts charity Film Oxford. The group’s new project Shadowlight Artists: Rising was exhibited in October/November 2018 across two galleries in Oxford, spanning installation, painting, theatrical production, and film. The group have made eight stand-alone films celebrating the group’s creative growth with an artistically ambitious body of new work, featuring documentary, performance, animation and drama. Shadowlightartists.org.uk

Undersea Adventure. Shadowlight Artists Associates. UK. 2018. London Premiere. 3:42. In search of lost treasure, the artists travel to the bottom of the ocean in a submarine. They meet all sorts of sea creatures, including mermaids and a merman, before stumbling upon a ghost ship. No speech. DD

Revenge of the Penguin. Tom Breach with support from Chris Oakley. UK. 2018. London Premiere. For his first solo project with Shadowlight Artists, Tom has produced Revenge of the Penguin, an animation that blends autobiography and fantasy. Starting with an incident in Tom’s early childhood, during which he threw his sister’s toy penguin into the lake at Thamesmead, the film imagines the penguin re-emerging from the lake 20 years later to exact its revenge on the adult Tom. In English with English captions. DD

L.R.R.H. Shadowlight Artists. UK. 2018. London Premiere. Weird and wonderful version of Little Red Riding Hood using animated backdrops created by the Shadowlight Artists and Associates. In English with English captions. DD


4.15pm DANCE

Joel Morrison’s I Bake premieres in the Dance programme on Saturday at 4.15pm.

I Bake. Joel Morrison. UK. Premiere. 19:43. Following on from the success of his 2017 film I Speak, Joel Morrison’s new short film I Bake is a near-silent comedy about a serious subject – his right-sided weakness following a stroke. The film follows him through a day – getting up, shopping, and baking a cake, counterpointed with that of a physical comedy great, Geoff Hoyle, stumbling through a parallel day without the strategies that Joel employs. This character, though funny, is also Joel’s nightmare self; the self everybody shares; the self who can’t cope. At the end, Joel takes the cake out of the oven, and shares it with his alter ego. No speech. DDD

Inside the Speaker. Paul Marshall. Northern Ireland. 2018. 10:47. This is a mini-documentary on Helen Hall’s beautiful dance piece ‘Inside the Speaker’, which received funding from the British Council, Arts Council for Northern Ireland and Unlimited. Influenced by her visual impairment, the piece takes the audience inside Helen’s world of dance. In English; no captions. Available to view free online at: https://youtu.be/Ar6OoFTtVN8 F D

TOGETHER WITH SHADOWLIGHT ARTISTS The Shadowlight Artists are a group of artists with learning disabilities based in Oxfordshire supported by the arts charity Film Oxford. The group’s new project Shadowlight Artists: Rising was exhibited in October/November 2018 across two galleries in Oxford, spanning installation, painting, theatrical production, and film. The group have made eight stand-alone films celebrating the group’s creative growth with an artistically ambitious body of new work, featuring documentary, performance, animation and drama. Shadowlightartists.org.uk

A Time to Leave. Danny Smith and Roly Carline. UK. 2018. London Premiere. Danny Smith’s new Dance for Camera film with Shadowlight Artists continues his interest into ancestral memory and the cultures of prehistory. Working with visual artist Roly Carline, he created a fish-god costume with iconography portraying the frustrations in his life. The dance moves from the chaos he sometimes feels to the soothing calm of a waterfall where his fish-god is invoked. Filmed in Oxford and South Wales. No speech. DD

TOGETHER WITH DIFFERENT VOICES 2 A neurodiverse film talent development programme in Bristol 2017. http://www.biggerhousefilm.co.uk/differentvoices A biggerhouse film production for 104 films supported by Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund, with BFI’s Film Forever National Lottery fund in association with the Arnolfini.

On-Off. Clair Beckett. UK. 2017. 01:47. “My body feels like it’s fizzing. Constant eyes are staring.” Dancer and choreographer Claire Beckett explores the internal experience of Tourette’s Syndrome through choreographic workshops and explorations with dancers from Far Flung Dance Theatre. No speech. Available to watch free online at: https://vimeo.com/255725807 FF DD


5pm COMEDY HOUR

Deaf Funny 3 & 4 make up our Comedy Hour at 5pm on Saturday

Deaf Funny 2. BSL Zone. 60 mins. BSL Zone’s comedy sketch programme returns by popular demand. In BSL with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://www.bslzone.co.uk/watch/deaf-funny-programme-3/ DDD


6pm

Hearing is Believing showcases the work of musician and composer Rachel Flowers

Hearing is Believing. Lorenzo DeStefano. 2017. UK Premiere.
A new feature documentary from award-winning producer/director Lorenzo DeStefano about the emerging international young musician and composer Rachel Flowers from the US. The screening celebrates this year’s Disability History Month theme of Music, and highlights the talents of Disabled women musicians in a musical world where performance opportunities still go overwhelmingly to men. In English with English captions. Find out more at: http://www.hearingisbelievingfilm.com/main/ F D


SUNDAY 9 DECEMBER 2018

Vesna Marich’s To Watch the Truth in the Eyes is shown in Focus on the World on Sunday from 12pm.

12pm FOCUS ON THE WORLD. Lunch included.

A Seat at the Table. Bruna Martini and ADD International. Bangladesh. 2018. Festival Premiere. 4:53. In Bangla with English voice-over and English captions. The movement for disability equality is powered by the passion, vision and courage of activists – ordinary people taking action to create social change. Activists know that by forming organisations for disability rights, and working together, they have the potential to build powerful movements for change. ADD International supports disability activists to acquire the tools, skills and resources they need to turn their vision into powerful organisations that lead powerful movements for change. F D

Hear Me Out. Jason Boberg. New Zealand. 2018. 3:26. European Premiere. Mojo Mathers, Aotearoa’s first deaf MP, has one last chance to open the door for people with disabilities to fully participate in democracy. Democracy isn’t always democratic, and even the best governments struggle to be truly inclusive. Mojo Mathers knows from what it is to have to fight to enjoy the rights most people take for granted. With her Bill before parliament, Mojo must continue to fight in order to ensure a political future of equal representation for New Zealanders with disabilities. In English, with English captions and audio-description. Available to watch free online at: https://loadingdocs.net/hearmeout/ FF D

Zero Tolerance. Antonios Rellis and Athanasios Papantonopoulous. Greece. 2018. 11:54. In 2015, the Emancipation Movement of People with Disabilities entered a residential centre for disabled children in Lechaina and refused to leave until the abuses they found there had ended. A shocking reminder of the conditions in which many disabled people of all ages live in Europe. In Greek with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://dpac.uk.net/2016/09/greeces-shocking-secretthe-work-of-zero-tolerance/ DDD

To Watch the Truth in the Eyes. Vesna Marich. Bosnia Herzegovina. 2018. 30:00. UK Premiere. The lives of two families, Hajrich and Sunjich, are very different. The Sunjich family has the means to make the life of their daughter Edna fulfilled, so she is a happy and successful teenager. The Hajrich family are stuck because there is no access for disabled people in their building, and even the basic right to go out with their daughter Senka is an everyday struggle. But, there is the light at the end of the tunnel. In Bosnian with English captions. FF D

The Fight. Violeta Ayala/Dan Fallshaw. Bolivia/US. 2017. 29:50. The film follows a group of Disabled people as they march across the Andes determined to speak directly to the President about their request for a monthly disability pension of $70, to be greeted by violence from the police.  In Bolivian with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWX-G2NJeSI DD

Live travel to London (Livenä Lontooseen). Harri Asikainen. UK/Finland. 2015. UK Premiere. 20:25. The film follows a wheelchair user as he travels from Jyväskylä Finland to the Opening Ceremony of London 2012 Paralympics and faces barriers along the way. In Finnish/English with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://youtu.be/NSAalwZ9pPU DD 

Followed by a discussion with filmmakers including Harri Asikanien from Finland and the audience.


3.15pm SHORT DOCS

Lauren la Rose’s Papi and the Pretty Boys is in Short Docs on Sunday at 3.15pm

Super Reimagined Dreamland. Tom Dwyer. UK. 2018. 6:35. London Premiere. The story of Barry Kirk, an artist and lifelong painter who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, at the same time as his 1960s series of paintings of the Margate-based fairground Dreamland re-attracted attention due to the fairground’s revival. Combining interviews with Barry with digital and Super 8 footage, Super Reimagined Dreamland considers the importance of preserving our past in the face of fading memories. In English; no captions. D

Papi and the Pretty Boys. Lauren La Rose. USA & UK. 2018. 8:33. Papi and the Pretty Boys explores the director’s Mexican father’s coming-out story, and his desire to film a Gay Bond action movie. Lorenzo Bond, his alter ego, appropriates the kitschy James Bond narrative to fictionalise his personal struggles with queer identity, mental health and fatherhood. In English; no captions /https://vimeo.com/256460141 FF D

Tea and Therapy @ Momo’s Café. Susan Cairns. UK. 2018. 12:00. The owner of a café in St Helens opens the doors to a number of disability groups every Monday. Poignant moments and humour carry the audience through this short portrait of the individual contributors. In English with English captions. Available to view free online at:  https://youtu.be/XeSsmOMTLuU F D

Born. Ella Bee Glendining. UK. 18:07. London Premiere. In English with English captions. The film focuses on four main subjects, including Paralympic athletes Iain Dawson and Danny Nobbs, with themes of childhood and the passing of time, concluding with a section showing inclusive theatre company Total Ensemble at work. In English with English captions. The trailer is available to watch online here: https://vimeo.com/260057080 FF D

Escape. Ognjen Cvetinovic. UK. 2016. 05:00. Premiere. In English with English captions. Michael Harder explains how he uses Parkour to help him overcome the struggle that comes with having dyspraxia. In English; with captions. DD

TOGETHER WITH SUPERFEST Superfest International Disability Film Festival was founded in 1970 and is the longest running disability film festival in the world. Co-hosted by San Francisco’s Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State for more than 30 years, Superfest is one of the few festivals worldwide that is accessible to disabled filmgoers of all kinds.

Who Am I To Stop It: Dani’s Story. Cynthia Lopez & Cheryl Green. US. 2017. 30:00. SuperFest Disability Justice Award. This semi-observational documentary explores isolation, art and transformation after brain injury and is excerpted from a longer film about three artists with brain injury. Through cinéma vérité, the film follows Dani Sanderson, a poet and beat boxer, as she navigates autonomy, relationships, and questions of family, queer sexuality and faith. In English, with English captions and audio description. FF DD


4.45pm DRAMAS

Will Jordan’s relationship survive coming out in Stuart Quinn’s 4am?

4am. Stuart Quinn. UK. 2018. London Premiere. 13:00. Jordan has kept his sexuality hidden from his strict, traditional parents — however, he is forced to address this secret when the truth is accidentally revealed to them by his boyfriend Adrian. Will their relationship survive or is it too late? In English; no captions. DD

The Mess. Dorothy Allen-Pickard. UK. 2017. 4:17. Writer / Performer: Ellice Stevens. Editor: Jennifer Tividad. As Ellice gets low, her room gets messy – she never sees it coming, but it always happens. There seems to be no way to break out of the endless highs or lows that make up bipolar, or even to pick up her clothes up off the floor. Winner of Best UK Short, Open City Documentary Festival, 2018. Winner of Silver Screen Award, YDA, 2018. Winner of Short Cuts Award, Shooting People, 2018. Nominated for Best New Talent, Venice Film and TV Award, 2018. In English with English captions. FFF D

Like Sunday. Ella Bee Glendining. UK. 2018. 04:03. Description of the film: From a doleful seaside town in which they’ve lived their whole lives, two best friends head ‘up the city’ on a night out. One with a rare disability and the other wildly camp, the two are outsiders brought together by their otherness. An angry train conductor, a belligerent bouncer and an unwelcome flight of stairs, their night is full of frivolity and peculiar encounters. In English; no captions. FF D

To Know Him. Ted Evans. UK. 2017. 27:57.  To lay the man she loves to rest, a Deaf woman must overcome a barrier far greater than language. When a tragic accident leaves Sarah grieving for her Deaf partner Rob, she is forced to track down and engage with his hearing father, who hasn’t seen him for many years. Starring Jemma Joyce, Hermi Berhane and Ged McKenna. Produced by Jennifer Monks and Michelle Stein; a Pencil Trick Productions and Escape Films production for BSLBT. In BSL with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://www.bslzone.co.uk/watch/know-him/# FF DDD.

Ideas. Kelly Turnbull. Liberdade. UK. 2018. Premiere. 08:00. In English with English captions. A theatre company needs to come up with an idea for their new show, due to take place in just ten days, and explores themes from famous movies. In English with English captions. F DD

I’m Not Funny. Beacon Films BFI Film Academy. UK. 2017. 04:59. Caroline is a stand-up comedian at a crisis point, until she discovers the amazing Jokemaster 5000. Can the machine solve her problems…? In English with English captions. Available to watch free online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-K5ZIjURwk F DD


6pm 

The festival ends with Tod Browning’s cult classic Freaks

Freaks. Tod Browning. US. 1932. 60:00. The Festival concludes with the 1930s cult classic dramatic feature film Tod Browning’s Freaks, shown here to mark the Circus 250 anniversary and Disability History Month. What was life really like for the Disabled people who were left with no choice but to work in a freak show, and what happened when they fought back? In English; no captions. Available to buy online from Amazon. For 18+s only. D