Angelsstandcorrected

BAFTA have decided that my films content is inappropriate for its members to see at an event hosted, and get this, by the London disability arts forum as part of the London disability film festival. The festival organisers felt that the film was important enough to close their festival even though it’s still a ‘work in progress,” they felt it presents a challenging alternative to the cosy, politically correct idea of what disabled people are, and how they should behave. The organisers wanted to help me raise the money to complete it, but apparently they aren’t the right people to decide this… After what I was saying recently about the media establishment being hog-tied by politically correct prejudice and self rightousness. I shouldn’t have been astonished by this decision but I was. I was also disappointed but not altogether surprised by such a narrow minded approach. It’s not as if the BAFTA members are vestal virgins or babes in arms these are the great and good of the British (sic) film and TV industry a more rapacious and ravening group of pompous money grubbing villains you would be hard put to find.

After 3 days of trying Corinna Dowling, head of events at BAFTA and the person responsible for the decision, finally returned my calls to tell me that the ‘aesthetic’ of the film was wrong, that it was too explicit, raised too many questions and was too demanding for the event in question ( an event held at BAFTA to raise the level of awareness about disability in film etc ). So if my films content is not suitable for the people that bought you, Wife Swap, Big Brother and 28 days later, it must be really controversial…or perhaps it’s just subversive and scary, being both entertaining and distressing. It turns out that the public are also allowed to attend, so it must be considered unsuitable for them as well. Perhaps the problem is that the ‘freaks’ have empowered themselves by breaking the mould of what society expects of them, they deserve acknowledgment for this – regardless of whether or not so called normal people agree with their choices. The LDAF are unhappy about this censorship ( for that’s what it amounts to) and are trying to arrange an alternative screening of the film “BAFTA were too scared to show”. Maybe people will be allowed to watch it and make up their own minds, now that would be inappropriate.