One of the Beautiful People

I met Zian in 2015. I was making photos of a protest when the police arrived and started threatening us with arrest if we stepped off the sidewalk. Zian rolled up on her Vespa and saw the cops arrest Teressa Raiford, so Zian stepped into the street to get herself arrested in solidarity. Eventually the charges were dismissed, but that started our friendship that has deepened over the years, although we seldom see each other in person.

Today she met me for lunch to tell me about the documentary she just finished. We Are the Most Beautiful People is about Adults with Disabilities from around the world. Their documentary is a social justice film that challenges the notions of beauty and centers on the lived experiences of adults with disabilities. It’s 134 minutes long, and she’s just about to begin the hardest part of making a documentary: the distribution.

Zian was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when she was twenty. She lives with pain, with muscular spasticity, with a host of difficult symptoms. She walks with a beautiful stick and earns her living as an art therapist. In her spare time, she has raised money for this film, interviewed people, traveled, worked with the director and cinematographer, and made this happen. Here’s a thirteen-minute excerpt that gives you a good sense of it. 

If you’re interested, start thinking about where it could be shown at a venue near you: a film house, a school, a church, a community center or indoor market. Talk to the people in charge. See if they might go for it. Here’s the theme song created by Toni Hickman, a survivor of brain injury. Wherever community gathers to watch a movie, they could watch this one. 

The real push to distribute the film will begin in a few weeks. Who’s in charge? Zian. She could use a little word-of-mouth publicity. I told her I’d help. Let me know if you’re interested, and when she gets all the details worked out, I’ll get back to you with more information, including the cost of renting it. So far it has only been seen at online film festivals, but it has already garnered 19 awards. (In the extra you can see the t-shirt. Every good show has to have some merch.) Follow them on Instagram, Facebook & Youtube @wearethemostbeautifulpeople 

*Hot Tip* if you think you recognize a certain Liverpudlian famous for her baking, you're right. Lizzie Acker is part of the documentary.