+ Q&A with director Justin Edgar and actors Dominic Coleman & David Proud
Enlisted to teach a class of wheelchair-users about filmmaking, neurotic Jasper gets a little more than he bargained for.
Hailed in The Guardian as a ‘milestone in mainstream cinema’, Special People is a British comedy from the pioneering production company 104 Films.
It questions condescending outreach projects, self-defeating attitudes within the disabled community and the vacuity of the film business, all with a sly wink and a healthy helping of self-parody. Contemporary censorship of its disability themes resulted in it receiving widespread press coverage.
Justin Edgar is an award-winning independent writer and director of four internationally acclaimed feature films for backers including Film4, Creative England and Pathé. His company 104 films worked on the BAFTA nominated Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and co-produced feature documentary Notes on Blindness which was nominated for three BAFTAs including Best British Film and I Am Breathing which won a Scottish BAFTA.
David Proud is an actor, writer and producer, and BAFTA BREAKTHROUGH artist for 2021. He is a core writer on ITV’s Coronation Street with more than 30 episodes to date. David founded the BFI Disability Advisory Group, and is a BAFTA Film committee member.
Dominic Coleman is an actor and writer. He is well known for his extensive career in both Film & TV including Paddington (2014), Yesterday (2019) and most recently Wonka (2023).
Clare Baines is the BFI’s Disability Equality Lead, writer, filmmaker and creator of the accessible podcast ‘Crip Club’.
SPECIAL PEOPLE
Director: Justin Edgar
Production Company: 104 Films
Produced by: Alex Usborne, Justin Edgar
Written by: Dominic Coleman, Justin Edgar
Director of Photography: Zac Nicholson
Editor: Mark Burgess
Original Music Composed by: Kim Humphrey
Cast
Dominic Coleman (Jasper)
Robyn Frampton (Jess)
Jason Maza (Dave)
Sasha Hardway (Anais)
David Proud (Scott)
UK 2007
74 mins
Digital
This screening will be presented with subtitles, including descriptions of non-dialogue audio. BSL and live captioning will be available for the intro and Q&A.
We welcome your feedback on this screening. Relaxedscreeningsfeedback@bfi.org.uk
BFI Southbank has been awarded the National Autistic Society’s Autism Friendly Award.
The next relaxed screening is:
BFI FLARE: OSKA BRIGHT PRESENTS QUEER FREEDOM
Thursday 21 March 2024 18:20 NFT3
Find out more at
www.whatson.bfi.org.uk
and bfi.org.uk/relaxed
Relaxed Screenings
This is a Relaxed screening event, with environmental adjustments made to sound and lighting.
• You will be able to leave the auditorium and return during the screening.
• There will be a quiet space to use if you need to leave the auditorium.
• We support you wearing a face covering if you choose to do so.
• You are welcome to take refreshments into the auditorium but no hot food please.
• We understand you may make some noise.
• Please ask us if you need help.
Relaxed screenings are presented for neurodivergent audiences, with their companions and assistants. More detailed information can be found at bfi.org.uk/relaxed