''I Didn't See You There'' is a 2022 American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by Reid Davenport, produced by Keith Wilson, and edited by Todd Chandler. It is shot entirely from Davenport's physical perspective, largely from an electric wheelchair, as he navigates downtown

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, and his hometown of

Bethel, Connecticut Bethel () is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the town was 20,358. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connect ...

. ''I Didn't See You There'' had its world premiere at the

2022 Sundance Film Festival The 2022 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20 to 30, 2022. Due to COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, COVID-19 pandemic protocol, it was initially intended to be an in-person/virtual hybrid festival, but on January 5, 2022, it was announced ...

Synopsis

The unexpected arrival of a circus tent outside Reid's apartment in Oakland, CA leads him to consider the history and legacy of

P.T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He w ...

’s Freak Show and its lingering presence in his daily life in the form of gawking, lack of access, and other forms of

ableism Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against physically or mentally disabled people. Ableism characterizes people as they a ...

. The film expands on the tradition of point-of-view cinema by incorporating a disabled aesthetic generated through Davenport's own embodiment.

Accessibility

The film played only in theaters that were wheelchair accessible, and where it could be screened with open or closed captions. The film's detailed captions, created by Cheryl Green, were favorably compared to its "complex, immersive sound design". There is an audio-described version of the film narrated by director Reid Davenport.

Release and reception

The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2022, where it won the Directing Award in the U.S. Documentary category. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema founded by Nancy Buirski, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo editor of ''The New York Times'' and documentary filmma ...

, and the GGA McBaine Bay Area Documentary Feature Award at

SFFILM SFFILM, formerly known as The San Francisco Film Society, is a nonprofit arts organization located in San Francisco, California, that presents year-round programs and events in film exhibition, media education, and filmmaker services. The San Fra ...

, the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

. It will air on public television as part of Season 35 of POV in January 2023. ''I Didn’t See You There'' received positive reviews from film critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

it has a 95% approval rating based on reviews from 20 critics. Nick Allen writing for

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

states “''I Didn’t See You There'' is first-person poetry in captivating motion, expressed with a singular, assured artistic voice.”

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 16358560 2022 films 2022 documentary films American documentary films Sundance Film Festival award–winning films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films English-language documentary films