A Tribute To Disabled Filmmaker Ann Pugh

Anne Pugh has left us.
This week we have suffered a big loss with the untimely death of the wonderful Anne Pugh on Wednesday. I have known Anne for many years as she has helped make many of the films which have been a crucial part of our progress with the struggle for inclusive education.

Ann Pugh was a partner in Redweather, an independent production company based in Bristol. She was a disabled film Producer and Director. Although not exclusively, much of her work was about disability issues, education, social history and the arts. Education films include twenty films for the DfES promoting good inclusive practice and illustrating how the Disability Discrimination Act can be effectively implemented in schools.(The Reasonable Adjustments Project with Richard Rieser). Television credits include productions for Channel Four, ITV and Discovery. One series was a groundbreaking set of films of disabled adults talking about their experiences of segregation as children. These films helped change the perception of ‘Special School’ forever.

A particular fond memory was when she came and filmed an amazing weekend for the Alliance for Inclusive Education in Norfolk. We had bought together twelve young people with high-level support needs who were all in mainstream schools. She helped make a powerful film about the kind of support they really wanted. This film ‘The Inclusion Assistant’, like so many of Annes, has been used thousands of times over the years to teach professionals, through the voices of disabled people themselves, how to create services which empower the user.

Anne was an extraordinarily modest person, preferring to show her brilliant mind through the lens of her camera, her skillful editing and her deep understanding of the message which needed to be communicated. She will live on through her work, and in the hearts of all who knew her.
My condolences to Frank and all her family.

I remember watching a documentary titled Developing Inclusive Education in South Africa which Ann Pugh made along with campaigner Richard Rieser. I wrote about this film briefly here and have always remembered it.

I extend my condolences and thoughts to all who knew Ann Pugh.