Monday, July 8, 2024 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS App
Following its award winning festival run, "Is There Anybody Out There?" directed by emerging filmmaker Ella Glendining and produced by Janine Marmot, will make its national broadcast premiere on POV. The documentary trails Glendining as she embarks on a global quest to find someone with a body that looks like hers, and explores what it takes to love yourself fiercely as a disabled person in a non-disabled world.
“Is There Anybody Out There?” is a deeply personal, first-person look at living with a rare disability and the search for kinship within a global community. Born without hip joints and short thigh bones, Glendining chronicles her journey of alienation and disabled pride from a political and powerfully intimate perspective.
The film also explores the experience of being a disabled pregnant woman as well as the emotional process of becoming a mother, when she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. More than anything, this story is about ableism and the power of community – about living in a world where you’re seen as less than human – and what it takes to love yourself fiercely despite this.
Director Ella Glendining said: “I can hardly begin to express how thrilled I am that ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ is going to be available for U.S. audiences. What an honor to have this film find its American home with POV, alongside many of my favorite documentaries of all time, and as a huge part of the story takes place in America, this release feels extra special. ’Is There Anybody Out There?’ is my story, but it is also my battle cry for the disability community; the community I love and that has given me the strength to bare my soul. Since the film’s conception, I have dreamt of it being seen by as many people as possible, but initially I had no idea of where my search would take me. Many unexpected eventualities occurred during the making of this film that have shaped it in a unique and wild way. I worked with the most amazing collaborators and learnt so much about filmmaking, myself and my community, and the profound power of disabled kinship. My hope is that this film will open the audience's eyes and help to reframe the way disability is seen and understood, and how disabled people are valued in society; that it will shine a light on the ableism that permeates culture and impacts us all. I want this film to be a beacon of light for the disability community and people who have been made to feel ‘other.’ ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ has changed me forever, and I hope it will continue to change and inspire others too, bringing profound joy, pride, and power.”
Watch On Your Schedule: The film will be available to stream until Aug. 7, 2024 at pbs.org, and the PBS App. In addition to standard closed captioning for the film, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.
Film Awards:
“Is There Anybody Out There?” made its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it received a Grand Jury Prize World Cinema-Documentary nomination. It was an official selection of DOCNYC2023, 2023 ReelAbilitiesFilm Festival and the 2024 Sheffield DocFilm FEstival. The film has garnered several awards including the FIPRESCI Prize for International Documentary and the Silver Horn Award for Best Film on Social Issues at the 2023 Krakow Film Festival; the Bring the Change-Arca de Noè at the 2023 Biografilm Festival; and the Emerging Documentary Jury Award at the 2023 Milwaukee Film Festival. Additionally the film has received a number of nominations including the 2024 British Academy of Film and Television Award (BAFTA) for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer (Ella Glendining); the Audience Award Festival Favorites at SXSW 2023; the Golden Alexander-Newcomers Competition at the 2023 Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival; the Beyond the Screen Competition at the 2023 DocAviv Film Festival; and the Best Debut Director-Feature Documentary (Ella Glendining) and The Raindance Maverick Award (Janine Marmot and Ella Glendining) at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards. Ella Glendining also is the recipient of The New York Women in Film & Television Award (NYWIFT) for Excellence in Directing in 2024; and one of three recipients of the BFI & Chanel Filmmaker Awards celebrating "creative audacity" 2023.
Credits: Hot Property Films Ltd production in association with Tigerlily Two. Ella Glendining is the director and Janine Marmot is the producer. Annemarie Lean-Vercoe is the cinematographer and Rachel Roberts is the editor. The original score is composed by Erland Cooper. The executive producers are Lisa Marie Russo, Nikki Pattott, Natasha Dack Ojumu, Mark Thomas, and Erika Dilday and Chris White for American Documentary | POV.
Now in its 37th season, American Documentary’s multi award-winning series, POV, continues to mark its place as America’s longest running non-fiction series.
