Written by Chrysanthi Nigianni

“I filmed the elephant man, the dwarf, a giant, a pair of lobster people, the half woman, a clown and a jumble of jug band musicians. On tour in a 20-year old school bus, travelling 2500 miles across America, the ‘freaks’ worked their way through the wild west. Laughing, crying and drinking – a carnival of the damned – searching for a home…” wrote Richard Butchins, the disabled director himself.
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Written by Kamila Kuc

In her short film Close Your Eyes and Look At Me, Lindsey Dryden explores the issue of personal freedom, body and ways of seeing. She talks to Kamila Kuc about her fascination with radical women and respect she has for Shabana, the subject of her film.
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Written by Katharina Chase

Every day, especially living in any city in the UK, we see women wearing the hijab, the headscarf that is often part of a Muslim way of life. In her short and succinct film, Close Your Eyes and Look At Me, Lindsey Dryden provides an insight into the reasons behind one woman’s choice to wear it.
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Written by Kamila Kuc

Richard Butchins’s controversial film The Last American Freak Show raises difficult questions about disability and has scared some people off – Bafta recently withdrew from screening it, for reasons that remain unclear. Kamila Kuc talks to the director about a life-changing experience.
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