American Documentary

Overview

New York, N.Y. — June 10, 2024 — Following its award winning festival run, Is There Anybody Out There? directed by emerging filmmaker Ella Glendining and produced by Janine Marmot (Bodysong), will make its national broadcast premiere on POV Monday, July 8, 2024 (check local listings) and will be available to stream until August 7, 2024 at pbs.org, and the PBS App. The documentary trails Glendining as she embarks on a global quest to find someone with a body that looks like hers, and explores what it takes to love yourself fiercely as a disabled person in a non-disabled world. In addition to standard closed captioning for the film, POV, in partnership with audio description serviceDiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities. Now in its 37th season, American Documentary’s multi award-winning series, POV, continues to mark its place as America’s longest running non-fiction series.

Is There Anybody Out There? is a deeply personal, first-person look at living with a rare disability and the search for kinship within a global community. Born without hip joints and short thigh bones, Glendining chronicles her journey of alienation and disabled pride from a political and powerfully intimate perspective. The film also explores the experience of being a disabled pregnant woman as well as the emotional process of becoming a mother, when she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. More than anything, this story is about ableism and the power of community – about living in a world where you’re seen as less than human – and what it takes to love yourself fiercely despite this.

Director Ella Glendining said: “I can hardly begin to express how thrilled I am that Is There Anybody Out There? is going to be available for US audiences. What an honor to have this film find its American home with POV, alongside many of my favorite documentaries of all time, and as a huge part of the story takes place in America, this release feels extra special.

“Is There Anybody Out There? is my story, but it is also my battle cry for the disability community; the community I love and that has given me the strength to bare my soul. Since the film’s conception, I have dreamt of it being seen by as many people as possible, but initially I had no idea of where my search would take me. Many unexpected eventualities occurred during the making of this film that have shaped it in a unique and wild way. I worked with the most amazing collaborators and learnt so much about filmmaking, myself and my community, and the profound power of disabled kinship. My hope is that this film will open the audience's eyes and help to reframe the way disability is seen and understood, and how disabled people are valued in society; that it will shine a light on the ableism that permeates culture and impacts us all. I want this film to be a beacon of light for the disability community and people who have been made to feel ‘other’. Is There Anybody Out There? has changed me forever, and I hope it will continue to change and inspire others too, bringing profound joy, pride, and power.”

Chris White, Executive Producer, POV said: “We are proud and excited to share Ella Glendining’s deeply affecting film with PBS audiences. Her unique approach is eye-opening and richly rewarding in its clarity of vision. With fascinating insight, she effortlessly weaves her personal life through a social and medical backdrop predominated by ableist attitudes and discrimination. Ella’s film joins other powerful works on POV exemplifying the diversity and authenticity of stories we want our viewers to experience.”

Is There Anybody Out There? made its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it received a Grand Jury Prize World Cinema-Documentary nomination. It was an official selection of DOCNYC2023, 2023 ReelAbilitiesFilm Festival and the 2024 Sheffield DocFilm FEstival. The film has garnered several awards including the FIPRESCI Prize for International Documentary and the Silver Horn Award for Best Film on Social Issues at the 2023 Krakow Film Festival; the Bring the Change-Arca de Noè at the 2023 Biografilm Festival; and the Emerging Documentary Jury Award at the 2023 Milwaukee Film Festival. Additionally the film has received a number of nominations including the 2024 British Academy of Film and Television Award (BAFTA) for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer (Ella Glendining); the Audience Award Festival Favorites at SXSW 2023; the Golden Alexander-Newcomers Competition at the 2023 Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival; the Beyond the Screen Competition at the 2023 DocAviv Film Festival; and the Best Debut Director-Feature Documentary (Ella Glendining) and The Raindance Maverick Award (Janine Marmot and Ella Glendining) at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards. Ella Glendining also is the recipient of The New York Women in Film & Television Award (NYWIFT) for Excellence in Directing in 2024; and one of three recipients of the BFI & Chanel Filmmaker Awards celebrating "creative audacity" 2023.

Is There Anybody Out There? is a Hot Property Films Ltd production in association with Tigerlily Two. Ella Glendining is the director and Janine Marmot is the producer. Annemarie Lean-Vercoe is the cinematographer and Rachel Roberts is the editor. The original score is composed by Erland Cooper. The executive producers are Lisa Marie Russo, Nikki Pattott, Natasha Dack Ojumu, Mark Thomas, and Erika Dilday and Chris White for American Documentary | POV.

Photos

Download Is There Anybody Out There? photos here.
Is There Anybody Out There? theatrical press kit here.

Credits

Is There Anybody Out There?

Director: Ella Glendining

Producer: Janine Marmot

Executive Producers: Lisa Marie Russo, Nikki Pattott, Natasha Dack Ojumu, Mark Thomas, Erika Dilday and Chris White for American Documentary | POV

Cinematographer: Annemarie Lean-Vercoe

Editor: Rachel Roberts

Country: United Kingdom

Year: 2023

About the Filmmakers

About the Filmmakers

Ella Glendining | Director/Writer, Is There Anybody Out There?

Ella Glendining is a writer-director dedicated to telling authentic disabled stories. She has written and directed short films with backing from Film4, the BFI, Arts Council England, Screen South, and the National Paralympic Heritage Trust. In 2023 Glendining won the prestigious BFI and Chanel Filmmaker Award and in 2020 was named one of Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow 2020. She is currently writing a feature fiction film called Curiosities of Fools for the BFI.

Janine Marmot | Producer

Janine Marmot is a British film producer and founder of Hot Property Films. She is best known for the BAFTA and BIFA - winning documentary Bodysong and the relationship drama Kelly + Victor, which won the Outstanding British Debut BAFTA award in 2014. She is currently developing a fiction film with Ella Glendining and Grant Gee’s fiction film Everybody Digs Bill Evans.

About

About POV

Produced by American Documentary, POV is the longest-running independent documentary showcase on American television. Since 1988, POV has presented films on PBS that capture the full spectrum of the human experience, with a long commitment to centering women and people of color in front of, and behind, the camera. The series is known for introducing generations of viewers to groundbreaking works like Tongues Untied (1989), Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1992), Rabbit in the Room (1999), Of Civil Wrongs & Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story (2001), Made in L.A. (2007), American Promise (2013), Not Going Quietly (2021), While We Watched (2022), A House Made of Splinters (2022) and the mini-series And She Could be Next (2020). Throughout its history POV has featured the work of award-winning, innovative filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, Laura Poitras, Nanfu Wang, Frederick Wiseman, Emiko Omori, Janus Metz Pedersen and Ava DuVernay. In 2018, POV Shorts launched as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries. In 2024, Indiewire named seven POV films in its roundup of “The 50 Best Documentaries of the 21st Century”: Faya Dayi (2021), The Mole Agent (2020), Minding The Gap (2018), Cameraperson (2016), The Look of Silence (2015), The Act of Killing (2013) and After Tiller (2013). All POV programs are available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.

POV goes “beyond the broadcast” to bring powerful nonfiction storytelling to viewers wherever they are. Free educational resources accompany every film and a community network of thousands of partners nationwide work with POV to spark dialogue around today’s most pressing issues. POV continues to explore the future of documentary through innovative productions with partners such as The New York Times and The National Film Board of Canada and on platforms including Snapchat and Instagram.

POV films and projects have won 47 Emmy Awards, 28 George Foster Peabody Awards, 15 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards® and the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award. Learn more at pbs.org/pov and follow @povdocs on social media.

About American Documentary, Inc.

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia organization dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation.

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia organization dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation.

Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, the Open Society Foundations, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Park Foundation, and Perspective Fund. Additional funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Chris and Nancy Plaut, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee, Acton Family Giving, and public television viewers. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.

About PBS

PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirm that PBS’s premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on Twitter.