I Didn’t See You There

“Filmmaker Reid Davenport reflects on matters of visibility, family, and the freak show in his latest personal film, winner of Sundance’s Directing Award for US Documentary. Visits to his family in Connecticut prompt memories of growing up before moving west to be an artist. A circus tent erected near his apartment elicits thoughts about America’s fascination with freak shows and how his disability affects the perceptions of those around him. As he reveals his observations in voiceover, Davenport’s movements [and point of view] are depicted from the vantage point of his wheelchair” (SFFILM Festival). “A sensory ethnography in the truest sense. It realizes and builds on the aspiration of the diaristic subjective vision of the American avant-garde of Brakhage, Baillie, and Mekas, and the reflexivity of cinema verité as it connects with the politics of the current moment” (Jeffrey Skoller).