Project Detail

Otto Baxter: Not a Fucking Horror Story

Otto Baxter directing Paul Kaye- Photograph by Kevin Baker

Synopsis

BAFTA-winning filmmakers Bruce Fletcher and Peter Beard follow their close friend Otto Baxter, a man with Down Syndrome, through a year of change as he writes and directs his first film; an allegorical horror biopic set in Victorian London charting the life of a monster baby on the rocky path to escape incarceration and become his own master.
Otto has recently experienced bereavement and family health scares that have forced him to think about mortality for the first time – his own and those closest to him. Otto has always turned to films to make sense of the world, and this moment is no exception. Through the writing and directing process, he finds the vocabulary to process his past and imagine his uncertain future. He tackles his demons head on, but always with a riotous sense of humour. Otto’s extraordinary upbringing has meant his life has always played out on camera to some extent. This rich archive will be blended with drama and present day footage in this intimate documentary, to tell the compelling story of Otto and his family, placing it firmly in the context of the UK’s evolving attitudes to disability over his lifetime.
Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - World premiere

Details

Year: 2023
Type of project: Features
Running time: 88 min
Format: Digital
Director: Bruce Fletcher, Peter Beard
Producer: Daisy Allsop
Executive Producer: Poppy Dixon, Hayley Reynolds
Editor: Rupert Houseman
Composer: Ed Harcourt

Genre

Disabilities

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Story Films

All3Media
Peter Beard
Berkshire House
168-173 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7AA

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Archface Films

Daisy Allsop

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Sales Company

Sky Studios / NBCUni

c/o daisy@archface.co.uk

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