Personal profile

Research interests

Len's research interests centre on how film can be used as a tool for social change. Utilising mainstream genres to tell stories of social injustice and in particular working in the field of Disability Advocacy.To this Len brings his extensive knowledge of industry practices as a performer, screenwriter, director and producer.

His 2016 feature film debut Sanctuary employed a cast of actors with disabilities to tell the story of Larry, a man with Down's Syndrome and Sophie, a woman with epilepsy and their forbiden love story. The film was workshopped and designed around the actors from Blue Teapot Theatre Company in Galway, based on the play of the same name which was written by Christian O'Reilly and Directed by Petal Pilley. Len worked with Christian on the film script and included workshop input from the actors - the result is a film that won critical acclaim from critics and audiences alike and has been screened around the world.

 

A chapter in the book Disability and Dissensus: Strategies of Disability Representation and Inclusion in Contemporary Culture. Edited by Katarzyna Ojrzynska and Maciej Wieczorek. called Shooting Actors who Have Intellectual Disabilities: A Reflexive Analysis on the making of the Feature Film Sanctuary was written by Collin and Published by Brill in September 2020.

 

A feature Documentary Altered Thinking: An acdemic Essay on Film (2020) took this analysis further by contextualising the industry approach to on screen representations of disability and the methodologies used by Collin in the making of Sanctuary and a call out to the industry to embrace authentic Casting and more authentic representations of disability.

Collin is currently in development on the film Iron Harvest, which explores themes around male sexuality from a queer perspective. Based on his original theatre play Box from 1992. The story has been updated and researched to provide a modern telling of the story of four men who dared to love another man. Set at the time of the first world war and in the present day.

 

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities

Education/Academic qualification

Other Courses, MA

30 Jun 201331 Dec 2099

Award Date: 30 Jun 2013

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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  • Ireland

    Translated title of the contribution: IrelandCollin, L., 6 Apr 2023, Gemeinsam: Kognitiv beeinträchtigte Menschen in europäischen Spielfilmen. Hartwig, S. (ed.). Berlin: Peter Lang, Vol. 7. p. 105-115 11 p. (Images of Disability. Literature, Scenic, Visual, and Virtual Arts; vol. 7).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

  • Altered Thinking: An Academic Essay

    Collin, L., 10 Dec 2020

    Research output: Non-textual formDigital or Visual Products

    Open Access
    File
    19 Downloads (Pure)
  • Shooting Actors who Have Intellectual Disabilities: A Reflexive Analysis on the Making of the Feature Film Sanctuary

    Collin, L., 23 Jun 2020, Disability and Dissensus: Strategies of Disability Representation and Inclusion in Contemporary Culture. Ojrzyńska, K. & Wieczorek, M. (eds.). Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, p. 217–235 (International Comparative Social Studies; vol. 47).

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    3 Citations (Scopus)
  • Sanctuary

    Collin, L., Jul 2017

    Research output: Non-textual formDigital or Visual Products

    File
    9 Downloads (Pure)