My SDI

Presented by Scottish Documentary Institute and Reclaim The Frame, we invite filmmakers and creatives of marginalised genders to join an intimate and participatory round table conversation with director Ella Glendining. 

Is There Anybody Out There? follows filmmaker Ella Glendining’s global search for someone with a body that looks like hers, and explores what it takes to love yourself fiercely as a disabled person in an ableist world. 

This groundbreaking documentary premiered at Sundance at the start of this year, has picked up the BFI x CHANEL Filmmaker Award 2023 and the FIPRESCI International Film Critics Prize, and has been nominated for two BIFA awards including Best Debut Documentary. 

The event celebrates the film’s release into UK cinemas and comes with a chance to watch a special Reclaim The Frame screening of IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE? plus in-person Q&A with Ella Glendining later that evening. 

Event Details

Filmmaker Circle: Thursday 23 November, 6-7pm @ GMAC (Training Suite)

Screening + Q&A: Thursday 23 November, 8.30pm @ GFT

About The Session

Facilitated by SDI and Reclaim The Frame, the Circle is open to Scotland-based documentary makers and artists of all marginalised genders, offering a chance to meet with Ella and each other for an informal conversation about Ella's creative practice and experience.

Drawing on Ella's thought-provoking film, the Circle will create a safe space to engage in a vital conversation about disability and accessibility, and the way society views disabled people differently. If we want to de-construct ableism, we need to dig deeper than physical barriers and access, and understand the attitudes and the value system that surround disabled people.

Tickets

Places are limited, so we encourage booking early. Tickets are available at a flexible, pay-what-you-can rate (£2/£4/£6/£8). 

A ticket for the film screening will be offered to all participating. 

If you would like to request a free ticket, or can't make it to the screening, email us at [email protected].

Access

Travel and accessibility bursaries are available and will be considered on an individual basis, ensuring that financial constraints do not hinder participation.

To find out more about accessibility at GMAC click here. 

Ella Glendining is a writer, director and Screen International Star of Tomorrow (2020), dedicated to telling authentic disabled stories. Working across both documentary and fiction, Ella has written and directed short films with backing from Film4, the BFI, Arts Council England, Screen South, and the National Paralympic Heritage Trust. Her debut feature, IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE? is supported by BFI Doc Society, Chicken and Egg Pictures and Creative Scotland. Currently in development is a historical drama feature for the BFI with disabled characters at its core, produced by Janine Marmot, and in post-production is a short comedy-drama called Pyramid of Disunion which she wrote, co-directed with Jessi Gutch.

IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE? is in cinemas from 17 November, released by Conic.

Reclaim The Frame champions marginalised perspectives in cinema, and connects with audiences through community building and conversation.