We aren’t the only ones counting down – Watershed, the executive producers of PUSH ME are also on a roll, showing one PUSH ME short a day too until 2nd Dec and then hosting the cinema premiere of the documentary Total Permission at their base in Bristol.
As they say on their site:
In a year when disabled people have been in the spotlight like never before Total Permission is a ground-breaking documentary made by Bristol-based director John Durrant. It brings together 12 ambitious projects from 12 extraordinary artists who pushed the boundaries beyond what many may have thought possible, to perform at the Unlimited Festival, part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, a programme that celebrated the work of deaf and disabled artists.
Follow conductor Charles Hazlewood, founder of the British Paraorchestra, as he encounters these 12 artists as they take risks to create their astonishing work. This film will change the way you think – an underwater wheelchair, a bipolar circus, a symphony of sirens…the work is extraordinary yet the creators are not ‘Superhumans’, they are simply great artists.
Conductor Charles Hazlewood says:
The Southbank Centre Unlimited Festival was a distinct moment in time, an amazing counterpoint to the London 2012 Paralympics. There is no question that a major shift in perspective is taking place, that the world is waking up and greeting – as if for the first time – the extraordinary community of people with disability. Unlimited provided a platform for artists at the top of their game, just as the Paralympics has done for athletes. But the Paralympic Games has taken over 50 years to gain the trust and respect of the world; the arts have a lot of catching up to do. Unlimited felt like the first step on a journey where the outcome must be deeper and fuller integration at all levels for artists with disability, into the mainstream. Unlimited showed us what we had all been missing!
This theatrical premiere of Total Permission will be followed by a Q&A with director John Durrant, who will be in conversation with the curators of Push Me Jo Verrent and Sarah Pickthall.
If you are near by, why not come along and meet the PUSH ME team in person? We’d love to get your take on both the shorts and the documentary? Come along and push us!