Wellness Hour – “Movie Night”

5:00 pm ET | 4:00 pm CT | 3:00 pm MT | 2:00 pm PT

This month, we will discuss a film, I Didn’t See You There. The idea is for you to watch it ahead of time and then join us on Zoom for the discussion. But if you don’t have time to see it in advance, join us anyway! The conversation is the real point.

The film has won numerous awards, including  U.S. DOCUMENTARY DIRECTING AWARD – Sundance Film Festival and WINNER OF GRAND JURY AWARD – Full Frame Film Festival. See details below.

From March 1 to 14, the film is available to stream for free by FSHD Society members. Here is the link. Please do not share outside of Society members. Because there may be a gap between the time you watch the video and the March 13 Wellness Hour, we suggest that you write down your most important observations immediately after watching. In the breakout sessions (of no more than 7 people each), we would like you to share your thoughts and feelings about the documentary. What responses did it produce for you? For others that watched it with you?

I Didn’t See You There

Year: 2022 | Run Time: 76 minutes​​ | Language: English | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Director: Reid Davenport | Producer: Keith Wilson

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.

The Wellness Hour is open to everyone in the FSHD community. This is your time to enjoy the company of fellow FSHers, share challenges, talk about what works for you, and feel validated and supported in whatever you may be going through.

We will open the Zoom room a half hour early (4:30 pm ET) so members can enjoy an open forum to discuss whatever is on their minds. Rick Whitehead will be on hand to welcome you in. Wellness Hour has become such a popular destination and we never have enough time for everyone to share what’s on their minds, so we thought we’d try this approach.

Our monthly Zoom meeting on Wellness is held on the second Monday of each month at 5:00-6:00 pm ET. Each month, we’ll have a conversation starter topic, but this is an informal gathering and if the discussion veers off in other directions, that’s OK! We hope you’ll drop by to enjoy the company of some of the wonderful people in our community.

If you are interested, please register by clicking on the link below. You only need to register once for the monthly series. You’ll receive notifications from Zoom with the meeting information.

Do you need tips on using Zoom features? Here’s a video that explains many basic features.