Jess Thom is the subject of Me, My Mouth and I, a thoughtful, upbeat British documentary on neurodiversity in the arts.Handout
You couldn’t ask for a more charismatic protagonist than Jess Thom, the subject of Me, My Mouth and I, a thoughtful, upbeat British documentary on neurodiversity in the arts that watches Thom’s mounting of Samuel Beckett’s potent, word-tumbling monologue, Not I.
Toronto audiences were introduced to Thom, who has Tourette syndrome, when she brought her autobiographical play Backstage in Biscuit Land to Harbourfront’s World Stage in 2016. Director Sophie Robinson’s Me, My Mouth and I closes the fourth annual ReelAbilities Toronto Film Festival (May 24 to June 2).
Muhi: Generally Temporary follows a Palestinian child living in an Israeli hospital, unable to return home to Gaza.Handout
Given that Thom’s neurological condition makes her prone to involuntary verbal tics – “biscuit” and “hedgehog” most often – she’s well-suited for the stuttering chatterbox role of Mouth in Not I. Just as the mouth in question is disembodied on stage, Thom’s own mouth and what she calls her “explosive language” is what some people might notice when encountering her off the stage.
Me, My Mouth and I couldn’t be a better fit for ReelAbilities if the festival had commissioned it specifically. The film and festival are about lives with challenges. As the former makes clear, disabilities are caused by impediments – those structures, environments and attitudes that in their formulation often don’t consider the differences in people.
The 17-minute short Barrier Free: The Art of Adam Cohoon offers a glimpse into the life of a wheelchair-using artist in Toronto.Handout
Of course, some divides are set up specifically with differences in mind. Muhi: Generally Temporary, also screening at ReelAbilities, follows a Palestinian child living in an Israeli hospital, unable to return home to Gaza. Likewise, the 17-minute short Barrier Free: The Art of Adam Cohoon offers a glimpse into the life of a wheelchair-using artist in Toronto.
Other festival highlights include Act Natural, a bright four-minute insight into the internal thoughts of an autistic young Australian as he attempts to navigate a simple conversation – simple being a relative term.
Me, My Mouth and I ends with a thought that not only closes the film but the festival itself: “Please know that disability is not a dirty word, that difference is beautiful and that we are powerful when we act together.” Quite a mouthful.
ReelAbilities Toronto Film Festival runs May 24 to June 2, at various Toronto venues. Information at reelabilities.org/Toronto.
Brad Wheeler