A 1980 historical drama film, The Elephant Man, will be screened at Bahrain Cinema Club tonight at 7pm.
The film is about Joseph Merrick whom the script calls John Merrick and describes as a ‘hideously deformed man in 19th century London’ – known as the Elephant Man.
Treated as a sideshow freak, Merrick is assumed to be retarded as well as misshapen because of his inability to speak coherently.
In fact, he is highly intelligent and sensitive, a fact made public when one Dr Frederick Treves rescues Merrick from a carnival and brings him to a hospital for analysis.
But even after being recognised as a man of advanced intellect, Merrick is still treated like a freak; no matter his station in life, he will forever be a prisoner of his own malformed body.
Directed by David Lynch, the film was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.
It was nominated for four Golden Globes for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay and won the BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best Actor and Best Production Design, and was nominated for four others.