Snakeboy and the Sandcastle

Director: Beryl Richards

Year: 2026

Following the director, Beryl Richards's adopted son Nathan/Joe’s journey from a one-year-old to adulthood, told from the viewpoints of parent and child. Joe wants to make this film so people ‘get’ him, know what it means to be neurodivergent, and what he has been able to achieve despite many challenges. Beryl shows the evolution of a family created from scratch that’s had to keep adapting. The challenge and recalibration of being a parent and a lifetime carer. The core of the story is told through 28 years of home movie footage- sparky, warm and funny as Nathan/Joe develops into the man he is today. Alongside, a growing boy is shown, much misunderstood and almost destroyed by the prejudice and ignorance surrounding neurodivergence. The family therapy received along the way offers some support, but also reveals how the family dynamic was influenced by Beryl’s own experience of childhood neglect. Beryl first saw 6-month-old Nathan on a VHS tape. She and husband Dave responded with a video welcoming him to their home. For the past 28 years Beryl has recorded “our feelings, our joy and our pain" so that Nathan could better understand his story later in life.

Director: Beryl Richards

Year: 2010

In a Perfect World what would you wish for? A 12 minute film poem using the visual theme of a wishing tree, created from the surreal and lyrical answers given by the students of Centre Academy Special School, London.

Director: Akporé Uzoh

Year: 2026

The aftermath of a sexual assault (rape). Exploring the deep-felt consequences for all involved. At its heart an epic story of a couple's fight for the survival of their love.