WATERTOWN, NY (January 9, 2023); WPBS-TV is proud to present a free preview screening of the new documentary I Didn’t See You There – directed by Reid Davenport. The event will be held on Tuesday, January 10th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the South Reading Room of the Flower Memorial Library in Watertown, NY. After the screening, a discussion will be led by NRCIL representative and disability advocate Michelle Appleby. Partnering with The Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library and Northern Regional Center for Independent Living (NRCIL), WPBS-TV brings an opportunity to start conversations and learn ways to support our local disability community. This event is free and open to the public – Attendees are asked to register at: wpbstv.org/events.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FILM: As a visibly disabled person, filmmaker Reid Davenport sets out to make a film about how he sees the world, from either his wheelchair or his two feet, without having to be seen himself. The unexpected arrival of a circus tent outside his apartment in Oakland, CA leads him to consider the history and legacy of P.T. Barnum’s Freak Show and its lingering presence in his daily life in the form of gawking, lack of access, and other forms of ableism. Informed by his position in space, lower to the ground, Davenport captures indelible images, often abstracted into shapes and patterns separate from their meaning. But the circus tent looms in the background, and is reverberated by tangible on-screen interruptions, from unsolicited offers of help to careless blocking of ramps. Personal and unflinching, I Didn’t See You There forces the viewer to confront the spectacle and invisibility of disability. Offering both a perspective and stylistic approach that are rarely seen, Reid brings an urgently needed storytelling eye to filmmaking with a documentary that is powerful and emotional, thoughtful and raw, intimate and political. Winner 2022 Awards: Directing Award: U.S. Documentary – Sundance Film Festival, Grand July Prize- Full Frame Film Festival, Bay Area Documentary Feature – SSFILM. More details on the documentary can be found at: www.ididntseeyoutherefilm.com.
“I Didn’t See You There” will be broadcast on WPBS-TV January 15th, 2023 at 1:00 pm.
About WPBS
WPBS is a PBS station serving approximately 650,000 households throughout Northern New York and Eastern Ontario via cable, satellite, Internet and over-the-air distribution. WPBS is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate, inform, and engage its two-nation region with exceptional and trusted content across multiple platforms. Its vision is to be the premier provider of extraordinary public media that instills wonder and curiosity across generations and borders. More information about WPBS, including a full channel listing, is available at wpbstv.org, or by following WPBS on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
