About Is There Anybody Out There?
"My body is extremely unusual, and I’ve never seen another like my own." An official selection of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Is There Anybody Out There? documents filmmaker Ella Glendining's personal search to track down other individuals with the same rare disability. The film also explores the experience of being a disabled pregnant woman as well as the emotional process of becoming a mother when Glendining unexpectedly finds out she is pregnant during the film's production. Perhaps more than anything, however, this story is about ableism—about living in a world where you’re seen as less than human—and what it takes to love yourself fiercely despite this. [90 min; documentary; English with open captions]
A Q&A with Drew Bogenschutz (Director, IU Accessible Educational Services) and Lesley Davis (Chair, Council for Community Accessibility, Bloomington) will follow the screening.
"Quite simply one of the best first-person documentaries about disability available. If you don’t learn something about your own ableism and buried prejudices, then you haven’t been paying attention." — Nadine Whitney, The Curb
"The filmmaker’s enthusiasm and indomitable spirit make this a deeply affecting and intimate doc—one that takes the viewer on a literal and emotional journey towards self acceptance." — Barbara Goslawski, That Shelf
"A cry for solidarity outside the bounds of what society considers normal—and an intellectual challenge to question what normal family structures, mental processing, or physical ability is in the first place." — Carmen Paddock, TAKE ONE Magazine
Any film screened at IU Cinema may contain content that viewers find sensitive or upsetting. Visit our Audience Advisories page to learn more.