Is There Anybody Out There? | BFI Q&A

Director Ella Glendining talks to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child writer Jack Thorne about her documentary, a personal journey that highlights the importance of being seen.

Now a favourite on the festival circuit, Glendining’s debut feature is thought-provoking and funny – a sensitive film that challenges you to stop and re-evaluate.

Glendining set out to find others with the same rare disability as herself: she was born without hip joints and very short thigh bones. The film also explores the experience of being a disabled pregnant woman and the subsequent joys of parenting, and challenges the ableist world to re-view notions of ‘normal’.

Using personal archives, sharing frank conversations with those around her (in particular, an autistic friend) and medical professionals, Glendining celebrates life while charting its physical and emotional challenges.

BFI