Film screenings set to explore representations of disability

Brighton based artist Kyla Harris, in partnership with Fabrica, will be presenting ‘The Other Screen’ at the gallery on Duke Street. This monthly event is dedicated to exploring and furthering the discourse around filmic representations of people with disabilities and the Deaf community.

Kyla said: “The films we will show are either made by people with disabilities or they are interpretations of people with disabilities. The format I’m following is one short film, and then a feature film, and then a discussion afterwards.

“What I’m really excited about is the discussion afterwards. Showing these films or just rehashing these ideas aren’t enough - we’ll be looking at how perceptions of people with disabilities are being formed, and how we as a critically engaged audience can respond to those perceptions and push back, thinking about how they can be changed.”

Through these screenings and discussions, disabled and non-disabled audience members are invited to engage with the discourse around how people with disabilities are represented, and how this impacts on wider society.

The first event, set to be held on March 29 from 6:30pm, will explore the theme ‘Disability on Show’. The short film ‘Born Different’ will precede the showing of David Lynch’s The Elephant Man (1980), which explores the life of nineteenth century ‘freak show’ performer John Merrick. Guests will be encouraged to share their opinions during the audience discussion after the film, which will focus on viewing disability and the concept of ‘disability on show’.

Kyla continued: “Film can be a very accessible medium, so I’ve made sure that the event is accessible for disabled and non-disabled audiences alike. I believe very strongly in acess to the arts.”

The venue is fully wheelchair accessible with two wheelchair accessible toilets. Both films are subtitled, and the discussion afterwards will be interpreted with a BSL interpreter.

To enable everyone with an interest in The Other Screen to attend, tickets are available with cost on a sliding scale, and can be obtained at theotherscreen.brownpapertickets.com.