Por Victoria Hope
Julie Forrest Wyman's poignant documentary, "The Tallest Dwarf," offers a unique and deeply personal exploration of identity, acceptance, and the complexities of belonging. More than just an observer, Wyman invites viewers on her own journey of self-discovery as she navigates her place within the little people (LP) community – a community she intimately identifies with.
The film avoids the common pitfalls of outsider perspectives, instead providing an authentic and compelling firsthand account and paints a vibrant portrait of the LP community, moving beyond stereotypes and delving into the nuanced realities of their lives.
In "The Tallest Dwarf", Wyman doesn't shy away from the difficult questions. She explores the internal struggles that individuals face as they reconcile their personal identity with societal perceptions. The film delicately uncovers the adversity faced by the LP community, from everyday accessibility issues to the more profound emotional and psychological impacts of being different.
During SXSW, our team had the opportunity to talk to the director and explore themes such as self-acceptance, the search for belonging, and the challenges of navigating a world that often is designed for many communities.
 |
| Julie Forrest Wyman / Photo: SXSW |
Amélie Magazine: 'The Tallest Dwarf' is a very personal journey for you, so how does it feel like to have this film premiering at SXSW?
Julie Wyman: Yeah, it's sort of a very big place to bring such an intimate story and it's really so exciting to be included here and also to literally see the film projected on a giant screen, which is how I intented! It's really meant to be cinematic visually. It's exciting, a little nervewrecking too, but what's been really meaningful was hearing the audience members saying that the film spoke to them so much, whethter they know about little people and dwarfism or not, and most of them do not, so it was sort of relatable and there was a lot of connection and the sense of being in between ans belonging.
And having some of the participants here with me and my team, and of course, a couple of the people in the film where able to come and sort of sit in the theater and for all of them to take in "this is the movie" and to go our in the world and share our culture and our history.
As you know, some have seen little people on reality TV or in carnivals, but to kind of understand that we have a long history as our own culture in its complexity (was the intention). But also there are lots of threats on display that we have to navigate every day, so being with people with the same experience and for them ti see and take in the audience, that was really beautiful.
Amélie Magazine: We follow Dwarfism History on Tiktok and we thing Aubrey is an amazing creator about the subject. With that in mind, can you introduce us to more influencers who are part of the little people community for us to follow?
Julie Wyman: Well of course, several people from the filme have a social media presence, such as Katrina Kemp, she speaks nearly the end of the film and she's a performer, ann then Matthew Jeffers, who's also a performer who writes the script for the photograph of the two people wearing monkey masks, and then we have. One of the people who've also been part of the team on the advisory board is Rance Nyx! He's an actor and also does short films! You might recognize him because he's been in plenty TV shows.
There are so many cool people I follow, there's also Caity B, who's a Fashion Designer and she's a little person who makes incredible pieces and amazing embroidery art, like drawings made out of embroidery for the clothes and a lot of it is scaled for little people.
And still talking about fashion, there's one company called Chamaiah Dewey, she's average height designer, but she also created for the little people community, by also creating for the community, including what we call in the fashion world as social models in terms of disabilties, like "let's change the world' and she does that and it's so beautiful!
.png) |
| The Tallest Dwarfv / Photo: SXSW |
Amélie Magazine: While filming this documentary, there were probably challenges either in terms of technical issues to emotional aspects, can you talk about that?
Julie Wyman: Sure, I think all documentaries have technical issues to manage, but for me, the emotional, the community part, the cultural aspect, that was the biggest area of challenges. I had a lot of discomfort and was unsure while filming in little people communities. I kind of knew on a gut level that it was loaded and there was an entrreprise even to ask to little people to film with me.
And as I got to know the community, it became more and more clear. Little People of America didn't want me to film in certain places and part of the conferences, so I didn't and I worked with what i was granted permission to do, but I think, as a person who needs to be there, I felt like I had to shift who my story was about to understand that this film would not be about exploiting people; they were going to tell the story with me and have the camera as a witness, so really I ahad to rethink what story I was telling and this is why the workshop I was working in was done with actors and performers who actually wanted to be on camera. It was like a world we made for ourselves.
At first I was thinking like other documentaries, like "I gotta get to that little corner, the hard little corners that no one has access to, but after a while, I started to realise that there was so much in the community and friendships that are forming to explore and unpack with the histories that tie together everyday, to tell what was happening in the rooms where the camera was invited.
Amélie Magazine: Do you have a funny story from the set while filming?
Julie Wyman: *laughter* See, this also related to something that we didn't include in the film, that was in the cutting room, so, my parents are, as you could see in the film, my mom doesn't totally understand why I care so much about this identity. Both of my parents didn't at the beginning, but they really wantd to participate, even if they didn't understand it, so once, I've asked my parents to reenact my birth *laughter*, in a park on a picnic bench.7
So my mom pretended to give birth to me, screaming and pret4nding to feel all of the labour pains, while my dad was holding her hand and from under the table I pop out, like, adult me, like a baby *laughter* I mean, it's totally absurd and I loved it the idea was like "what If I had my diagnosis before I was born, but it was so weird. I kinda want to put it in social media for people to see because it's hilarious! People from the team have seen in and they laughed but they also thought it didn't quite fit, so we took it out.
Amélie Magazine: Which lessons can the audience of SXSW take home from this film?
Julie Wyman: I hope the people who see the film experience a new form of beauty, take that in and hold it and believe in can be in the world. Bodies of different shapes, little people bodies, a sense of these varying proportions and different ways of moving, all very differnt from the standart, tall, thin, white, not white... So I want theem to hold that in and knwo that is is part of our world.
I'm hoping we can see disabilities as a difference that is important to our world and that we need in our world and that we value. It's kind of a big picture but I hope people get to see that. A lot of this film is about parents and children, you know? And a lot of kids are different from their parents,maybe they are neurodirvegent, people who are queer, trans, I hope that this film can show people how important the simple act of saying 'I understand you' or saying 'I hear you', ' I get that this is important', just that, is so beautiful and does so much instead of the resistance or fear of that different;
Amélie Magazine: If you could time travel and see yourself as little Julie, talking to a mirror, what message would you like to tell her?
Julie Wyman: I love that question! You are gorgeous the way you are! There is no one exactly like you and that is something to hold, and you know bring yourself to the world, don't be scared, you'll find your place.
Amélie Magazine: One word to define The Tallest Dwarf?
Julie Wyman: That's a hard one! I wanna say belonging, but I'm not sure... Community. It's very much a mixture of things. Hopefully those are some words *laughter*
======
 |
| 'The Tallest Dwarf' cast and crew / Photo: SXSW 2025 |
To follow more stories and personalities from the little people community, make sure to follow:
Caity B
https://www.instagram.com/ca8ty?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Thetallestdwarffilm
https://www.instagram.com/thetallestdwarffilm
Julie Wyman
https://www.instagram.com/onteejoowee/
Rance nix
https://www.instagram.com/rancenix?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Chamaiah Dewey
https://www.instagram.com/dewey_clothing?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Matthew Jeffers
https://www.instagram.com/matthewaugustjeffers?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Katrina kemp
https://www.instagram.com/kueenkatrina?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
.png)
