I Didn’t See You There / Film School Radio interview with Director Alysa Nahmias

Director and cinematographer Reid Davenport reaches out through the lens of his camera as a visibly disabled person, determined 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 Oakland, California apartment in leads him to consider the complicated history and legacy of Phineas Taylor Barnum’s or 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. Director Reid Davenport joins us to offer 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. For updates & screenings go to: ididntseeyoutherefilm.com I Didn't See You There at the Laemmle Monica Film Center October 14 Directing Award U.S. Documentary – Sundance Film Festival 2022 & Grand Jury Award – Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2022