With Learning Disability week coming up in June, now is the time to support learning disabled representation in the film industry as well as consider access to cinema for neurodivergent audiences.
In 2019, FAN New Releases supported Signature’s title The Peanut Butter Falcon, a modern Mark Twain-esque adventure starring Shia LaBeouf (American Honey, Fury) as a small-time outlaw turned unlikely coach who joins forces with Zack Gottsagen‘s Zak, a young man with Down Syndrome on the run from a nursing home with the dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Dakota Johnson (Suspiria, Fifty Shades of Grey) stars as Zak’s loving, but stubborn, carer.
This feel-good film features a Learning Disabled actor in a leading role, where his disability is not the main element of the story. It’s a tale of friendship and adventure, and will appeal to fans of wrestling, good storytelling, and/or road movies.
You can now watch The Peanut Butter Falcon on BFI Player.
Bookings for Community Cinema screenings can be made from Cinema For All.
You can also watch the film My Feral Heart on BFI Player. A drama in which Luke (Steven Brandon), a young man with Down’s syndrome who prizes his independence, is forced into a care home after the death of his mother. There he rails against the restrictions imposed on him, but his frustrations are allayed by his budding friendships with his care-worker Eve (Shana Swash) and a mysterious feral girl (Pixie Le Knot).
If you’re interested to run a relaxed screening, to help bring in Learning Disabled audiences to your cinema, find out more in our quick tips for running relaxed screenings. You may also find some transferable advice in our autism-friendly screenings guide, though bear in mind much of this advice is specific to people living with autism, not necessarily those who are Learning Disabled. Ideally, consult with Learning Disabled groups in your area for advice and expertise.
Project overview We offer fortnightly screenings which are branded as “relaxed” as part of our cinema programme. The films selected are usually new releases which are also screening at other times. The relaxed screenings involve certain modifications in terms of presentation (raised light level, lower sound, no ads or trailers) and we make the space … More
Project overview We are working with Tir Morfa special school and the film enterprise group they have set up in the school ReACTions to run screenings for the whole school. The school has around 120 pupils, which includes children with moderate and profound learning disabilities. The screenings take place at Rhyl Little theatre, home to … More
Sponsorships are not philanthropic donations – they are business investments from which companies want a return. We ask major sponsors what’s in the deal for them.
The Good Fundraising Guide provides some great information to get you started in fundraising, whether you are a volunteer or a fundraising professional, and is an invaluable source of reference for more experienced fundraisers too.
Whether you’re just starting out in fundraising or you simply want a refresher of the basics, this toolkit will help you put the foundations in place for an effective fundraising strategy.
From sponsorship to running a successful crowdfunding campaign, discover how to get the funds to support your work.
Colinsburgh Community Cinema is a not-for-profit community organisation run by four friends and based in the Scottish village of Colinsburgh. It is in its sixth season [2013-14]. The village is situated in rural Fife and has a population of 250 although we also draw our audience from the Fife coastal villages along the Forth and … More
Africa in Motion is an Edinburgh-based annual African film festival, managed and run as a not-for-profit organisation. The festival is directed by Lizelle Bisschoff and Stefanie Van de Peer, both researchers in African cinema, and is organised by a dedicated team of about 10 part-time staff and volunteers.
Fringe! is a film and arts festival rooted in London’s queer creative scene and welcoming everyone. Shades of Queer is a new and unique strand of additional activity specifically focusing on queer and trans people of colour (QTPOC) that took place in addition to the core festival programme.
