This film is part of Free
Special People
Five teenagers get their own back on a manipulative filmmaker in this subversive comedy.
Overview
A filmmaker enrols five disabled teenagers for a film project about the ‘struggle’ they go through every day. He takes them out to countryside and is determined to create a piece of ‘pity porn’, but his collaborators are sick of being treated differently. A humorous encapsulation of the ongoing fight for rounded and authentic representation of disabled characters in film and television.
This short was a precursor to a feature film of the same name, also directed by Justin Edgar who is a leading figure in the UK’s contemporary disabled-led filmmaking scene. In 2004 Edgar founded 104 Films with Alex Usborne and the company has been at the forefront of training a new generation of filmmakers who identify as disabled, Deaf and neurodivergent.
Related
The End The End
Science Fiction 2011 24 mins
A moving speculation on the future decline of Deaf culture
Smallest Woman in the World Smallest Woman in the World
News 1972 8 mins Location: Bromsgrove
Living in a world that makes no concessions for her size: Joyce Carpenter is Britain's smallest woman.
Trapped Rhythms Trapped Rhythms
Music video 2016 4 mins
Powerful music video that demands respect for difference.
Education of the Deaf Education of the Deaf
Documentary 1946 51 mins Location: Manchester
A brisk look at the tests and education practices for deaf people in 1940s
Resistance Resistance
Drama 2008 13 mins
Artist-activist Liz Crow's haunting film about the Nazis' Aktion-T4 programme during World War Two. In 1939 Germany, a secret institution has sinister plans for its disabled inmates.
Artificial Limb Making Artificial Limb Making
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent
Occupational therapy turns full circle, as amputee soldiers learn to make artificial limbs for others
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.