PRESS RELEASE

9 August 2022 – Film by disabled artist to be released by BBC.

Ignite’s Katerina Holmes wrote and directed this film in 2019-2020, supported by BBC Arts and Arts Council England. Resource Productions and Screen South supported with development and production.The film will be released on iPlayer on 16 August 2022. See the film page on iPlayer.

Kitty says:

I am so pleased and excited to say that my film Speak to me listen to me is being released by the BBC. The film was commissioned in 2019 as part of the New Creatives Scheme and completed in 2020.
It felt great to be selected for this scheme. People would be able to hear my voice as a disabled artist. The film says a lot about what it is like to be disabled in our society and how people respond to you as a disabled person.
I was encouraged to apply by Resource Productions, who supported me through the whole process. Dom is tireless and very committed! Screen South and BBC Arts really helped with the development of my ideas and I enjoyed learning from industry professionals like Jes Benstock.
It was exciting to see the film develop during production. The whole team worked together to realise my ideas and it was fantastic to be part of that. It was great to work with disabled actors, who really understood where I was coming from.
The film was produced by Dom at Resource. We shot it over 2 days at Treloars College. I had a fantastic cast (Kate Caryer, Ed Clements and Imogen Roberts) who responded to the script and worked hard throughout the shoot, and a highly committed crew including Dominique Unsworth, Leigh Alner, Euan Donaldson and Mel Wignall.
I was really happy with how the film turned out. I hope other people will enjoy it and that it will resonate with disabled and non-disabled audiences.
The film was selected for the Amsterdam Lift-Off Film Festival and the Tagore International Film Festival in 2020. After private screenings, it was reviewed by Francesca Martinez, Baroness Jane Campbell and Lee Ridley (Lost Voice Guy).

New Creatives is a talent development scheme supported by Arts Council England and BBC Arts, delivered in the South East by Screen South.