I Didn't See You There
A dark gray shadow silhouettes a young man in a motorized wheelchair facing left. Some of the shadow is blurred, as if he is in motion. The left half of the image is overlaid with a geometric line-drawing consisting of intersecting trapezoids.
Official poster
Directed byReid Davenport
Produced byKeith Wilson
Narrated byReid Davenport
Edited byTodd Chandler
Release date
  • January 2022 (2022-01) (Sundance)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

I Didn't See You There is a 2022 American documentary film 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, and his hometown of Bethel, Connecticut.

I Didn't See You There had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

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’s Freak Show and its lingering presence in his daily life in the form of gawking, lack of access, and other forms of ableism. 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".[1] 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.[2] It also won the Grand Jury Prize at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and the GGA McBaine Bay Area Documentary Feature Award at SFFILM, the San Francisco International Film Festival.[3][4]

It will air on public television as part of Season 35 of POV in January 2023.[5]

I Didn’t See You There received positive reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 95% approval rating based on reviews from 20 critics.[6] Nick Allen writing for Roger Ebert states “I Didn’t See You There is first-person poetry in captivating motion, expressed with a singular, assured artistic voice.”[7]

References

  1. ↑ Sun, Abby. "Sundance 2022 Critic's Notebook: I Didn't See You There, Jihad Rehab". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  2. ↑ "Sundance Announces 2022 U.S. Documentary Directing Award". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  3. ↑ Molloy, Tim (2022-04-11). "Full Frame Jury Prize Goes to I Didn't See You There by Reid Davenport". MovieMaker Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  4. ↑ "Golden Gate Awards Ceremony". SFFILM. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  5. ↑ POV, I Didn't See You There | POV | PBS, retrieved 2022-06-25
  6. ↑ I Didn't See You There, retrieved 2022-06-25
  7. ↑ Allen, Nick. "Sundance 2022: Jihad Rehab, I Didn't See You There, The Janes | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
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