ID: A white man sitting in an electric wheelchair with sunglasses on smiles at the camera in front of a lake on a sunny day. Photo by Daniel Chávez Ontiveros

This is me at Lake Merritt in Oakland. I lived in Oakland for five years. The city was the main backdrop for my project; I couldn’t have made it without Oakland. I’ve always loved street photography, something evident in the film. The city embraced me even though I didn’t deserve it as a non-native white person living in a historically Black city that is being gentrified. I will always love and be grateful to Oakland. Lake Merritt was crucial to my mental health during the darkest days of COVID, and its tapestry is included in some crucial moments of the project.

ID: A small gadget is rubberbanded on the left armrest of an electric wheelchair. The white left arm of the person sitting in the wheelchair is visible. Photo by Daniel Chávez Ontiveros

This is my tiny camera that I shot the film on. Most of the footage came from it being rubberbanded to my wheelchair. Being able to follow in the tradition of disability aesthetics is what excites me most. My footage was sometimes shaky, sometimes out-of-focus, and sometimes resembled a dolly shot that would’ve been impossible any other way.  

ID: A blurry closeup of a sidewalk. The top of a brown boat-shoe protrudes the lower-right corner of the frame. The shoe isn’t touching the ground. Photo by Reid Davenport

I wanted to make a film about how I saw the world, as a disabled person. While the film digresses, at least thematically, to how the world sees me at times, I still stick aesthetically to showing my vision.  

ID: A blurry image of a digital airline map in a dark plane. The map shows the plane moving towards the Northeast U.S. Photo by Reid Davenport

My collaborator and I decided it would be a great idea to move across the country within a week of each other smackdab in the middle of post-production; I moved to New York, Keith moved to Georgia. It was a blur. It was definitely a challenge, but at the same time we had been working with editor and Creative Capital alumnus, Todd Chandler, from across the country for months.

ID: Tight, abstracted shot of a classic brown baseball glove. The red logo is frayed. Sun peaks through in the tiny background. Photo by Reid Davenport

When I arrived in New York City, I was reunited with my baseball glove that my mom dug up for me. I’ve been a Yankee fan all of my life, but this is the first time I’m living in New York City…and I love it! One of the themes explored in the film is the evolution of home and how moving on is always inextricably tied with missing aspects the past. To me, this glove symbolizes both the past and the future, those two strands meeting in this image.

ID: A selfie of Alejandro and Reid. Photo by Alejandro Durán

At the first Creative Capital event that I was able to attend in-person, my good friend Alejandro Durán, who I hadn’t seen for years, showed up. I love being part of this community! Creative Capital has been helpful in many ways, but what stands out is the gatherings with the other grantees. Sharing my project helped me solidify what the film was for me, not just in planning my presentation but also in the reactions from an audience of artists.

ID: In a reflection of an unmarked storefront is a grayish silhouette of a man using an electric wheelchair. Overlaid on the photograph are white festival laurels that read “Directing Award: U.S. Documentary, Sundance Film Festival 2022. Photo by Reid Davenport

I couldn’t have dreamt up a better premiere. Not only did the project screen at Sundance, but I won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary. This project wouldn’t have gotten there without the hard work and passion of the I Didn’t See You There team: Keith Wilson, Todd Chandler, Alysa Nahmias, and Sasha Leitmann.

Left: ID: Reid sits facing forward in an empty movie theater. Photo by DCTV
Right: ID: A movie poster for I Didn’t See You There. Three long shadows of people on a paved path. The shadow to the left is that of a wheelchair-user and it spills onto the grass. There are laurels of awards from Sundance, Full Frame and San Francisco International. Below the title are credits and funders. There are two quotes near the top of the poster: “’I Didn’t See You There’ is first-person poetry in captivating motion, expressed with a singular, assured artistic voice.” – Roger Ebert; “Davenport has put a stake in the ground for an emboldened cinema of disability.” – Filmmaker Magazine: Poster designed by Yen Tan

I am so excited to have the theatrical premiere of I Didn’t See You There at DCTV in downtown New York City! It’s a new independent cinema housed in an old firehouse. The theater is gorgeous.

I Didn’t You There is showing at DCTV in New York City from September 30–October 6, 2022.