“Draws a direct line between the circus’ legacy of the “freak show” and the ableism that Davenport […] confronts on a day-to-day basis.”
— Mia Galuppo,
“‘I Didn’t See You There’ is first-person poetry in captivating motion, expressed with a singular, assured artistic voice.”
— Nick Allen,
“Road movies are an iconic American genre, powered by the rush of freedom, independence and possibility. Reid Davenport might laugh at being compared to L.A. mavericks Dennis Hooper or Monte Hellman [...] but his breakthrough feature doc, I Didn’t See You There, fiercely follows in a grand tradition.”
— Michael Fox,
“Davenport has put a stake in the ground for an emboldened cinema of disability.”
— Abby Sun,
“It is extremely rare that a film with very few human faces can evoke a spectrum of emotions such as laughter, compassion, warmth and distress in 77 minutes. It’s both unsettling and exciting to see a film that is honestly and candidly human, without the frills or the unnecessary.”
— Lauren Stone,
“A radical film that re-appropriates the gaze and asks audiences to look at the city with a fuller and more inclusive view.”
— Patrick Mullen,
“More poetic than confrontational, I Didn’t See You There’s methods embody its purpose better than any synopsis. The doc hums with a hypnotic affinity for architectural patterns and urban textures, the visual infrastructure highly attractive to Davenport since it allows him to immerse us in his point of view without being the view himself.”
— Jacob Oller,
ABOUT THE FILM
LOGLINE
Spurred by the spectacle of a circus tent that goes up outside his Oakland apartment, a disabled filmmaker launches into an unflinching meditation on spectacle, (in)visibility, and the corrosive legacy of the Freak Show.
LONG SYNOPSIS
As a visibly disabled person, filmmaker Reid Davenport sets out 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 apartment in Oakland, CA leads him to consider the history and legacy of 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.
Offering 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.
Director Reid Davenport
Producer Keith Wilson
Executive Producers Alysa Nahmias, Bryn Mooser, Kathryn Everett, Andy Hsieh, Dawn Bonder, Marci Wiseman, In Association with Breezy Circle, Ajna Films, XTR, JustFilms | Ford Foundation
Associate Producer Sasha Leitmann
Editor Todd Chandler
Director of Photography Reid Davenport
Featuring Kelsey, Becky, Carson, Lisa Davenport, Daniel Lee
FESTIVALS
2022: Sundance (World Premiere), Full Frame, Hot Docs, San Francisco International, True/False
AWARDS
Directing Award: U.S. Documentary (Sundance), Grand Jury Award (Full Frame)
AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World
EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Digital Download
PRESS KIT
Download Press Kit
AVAILABLE PRESS IMAGES (click to preview)
