Crip Melodrama: She’s Hysterical

Created by Independent Cinema Office

Join us as we explore how disabled women are portrayed in film.

Join us for an accessible film screening to celebrate 30 years of Todd Haynes film, Safe (1995)!

We will explore the complex representation of disabled women within melodrama in this mini-tour of screenings. ‘Crip Melodrama: She’s Hysterical’ has been thoughtfully programmed by deaf and disabled curators Emily Simmons, Charlie Little and Florence Grieve.

The ‘hysterical’ woman is a staple of melodrama. She is emotional, unstable, defiant, and often, disabled. This familiar character reflects our culture’s understanding of sick women. Placing the stereotype of the hysterical woman under the microscope, SAFE is the perfect title with which to examine disabled women in the genre.

After the screening, Florence will be chatting with Lindsey Dryden about the film and how disabled women are portrayed onscreen.

Lindsey Dryden is an Emmy award-winning, Sundance-supported, Oscar-shortlisted producer, director, executive producer, and co-founder of FWD-Doc. Her work explores radical bodies, LGBTQ+ lives, and D/deaf and disabled perspectives.

Lindsey produced 2x Webby- and Emmy-winning Trans In America, Sundance Special Jury Award-winning Unrest, and SXSW-debuting The Tallest Dwarf, and She Looks Like Me. She directed The Callers, Jackie Kay, Lost and Sound, and Close Your Eyes and Look At Me.

She was a consultant on Deaf President Now! and Heart of Invictus, and is a member of BFI’s Disability Screen Advisory Group, recently renamed We Crip Film. She was a lead creator of the FWD-Doc Toolkit for Inclusion & Accessibility with Kyla Harris.

Access information:

  • The film’s introduction and discussion will have live captioning and BSL interpretation.
  • The film will be presented with on-screen descriptive subtitles, and optional audio description is available.
  • Watershed is wheelchair accessible

Event details

When: Sun 14 Dec 2025, 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Format: In-person

Venue:
Watershed
1 Canons Road, Harbourside
Bristol BS1 5TX
United Kingdom

Cost: £11.50 or £9 concessions

Access & inclusion

This event includes BSL interpreters.

Access features

  • BSL interpreters
  • Live captions / STTR
  • Wheelchair access
  • Hearing loop

Organiser

Independent Cinema Office
florencegrievecreative@gmail.com

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