Sofiya Cheyenne
The HOW WE LOOK Project
Produced, Written and Directed by Sofiya Cheyenne and Julie Forest Wyman
The How We Look Project centers Little People (LPs) in the act of image-making. After millenia of being represented from an outside ableist and average-height perspective, it is time for LPs to take control of the means of production - to tell our own stories, craft our own images, and re-imagine and re-make the audience’s gaze. Six years in the making through an intentional and groundbreaking process, these short films have proven to us the power of community based creative work, and deepened our commitments to a filmmaking process that foregrounds care and consent. We are thrilled to share this work with the world.
Appointment
Image Description: A doctor sits in his chair while holding an x-ray looking down at Avery, the patient. Avery, is sitting on a teal step stool looking up at the doctor.
Carnival
Image Description: Jessica, a circus performer adorned in bright colors, poses in front of her troupe. She looks cautiously at her photographer.
Court
Image Description: Fabio, a court dwarf, in full regalia, looks deeply at the audience.
Our Story
To offer a sense of this project’s origins: We (Sofiya and Julie) were introduced to each other’s work by fellow LP artist Nic Novicki. We watched each other’s bodies of film and performance and found ourselves mutually inspired by each other’s creativity - there was a deep resonance between our commitments to combining artistry and politics and making CHANGE. A few months later we first met in person at the 2019 annual Little People of America (LPA) conference, where Sofiya was well-established as the head of LPA’s Dwarf Artist Coalition (DAC) and where Julie, an experienced filmmaker, was a newcomer, seeking her place as a newly diagnosed- and relatively tall- LP. At that conference we both offered the community two workshops that spoke to each other. Sofiya did a presentation inspired by Betty Adelson’s book “The Lives of Dwarfs” which shared the complicated history of dwarfs in Literature, Television, Film, Visual Art and Photography Photography explored the history of how LPs have been seen through human history, focusing on both troubling tropes and empowering examples. Julie’s workshop offered a hands-on self-portrait image-making workshop that asked LPA members to direct how they want to be seen in terms of camera angle, lighting, and composition. The synergy of our workshops - and the community’s hugely emotional and creative response to both - made our need - and our commitments - clear. Soon after we began imagining the How We Look project.
Our concept was to convene a core group of LP performing artists, starting with members of the DAC, to explore our shared history and lived experience, and to generate material that would be shaped into short films which we’d produce. We wanted this LP centered space to flip the gaze to our perspective - a project that offered us both creative opportunities and challenges we felt ready for.
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This project has been a four-part process of participatory workshopping and developing with the community. Phase one was virtual gathering or meeting and discussing what this project could be, and what is important to LP artists. Phase two was the workshopping of materials and images alongside ensemble building practices. Phase three was writing our scripts and developing concepts with each other. Phase four was transforming a dance studio into three separate sets to shoot our 3 short films.Throughout this entire project we curated an LP centered space that prioritized access and inclusion at all levels by creating community agreements, MUCH time for breaks, multiple communication channels and a plethora of step stools! The magic of the art we have been making is not only a storytelling of the LP experience but a building of a community and strength that comes with it.
Meet The HOW WE LOOK Particpants
