The Tallest Dwarf

A new season of PBS' Independent Lens is coming to Circle Cinema in 2026! We’re excited to welcome special guest actress Kendra Wall Dahl, who will moderate the post-film conversation with filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman, alongside host Sydney Alison.

ABOUT THE FILM 
The Tallest Dwarf follows filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman as she searches for her place in the little people community and unpacks rumors of dwarfism in her own family. Through intimate stories, creative collaborations, and archival history, the film delves into identity and medicine, asking whether society should change people or the structures that limit them.

ABOUT INDIE LENS
Indie Lens Pop-Up screenings empower our community to come together and talk about topics that might be otherwise difficult to discuss with one another. With this continued partnership, we’re not only able to watch films from the award-winning Independent Lens series, but we also create open, safe forums to talk about important issues affecting our neighborhoods today, hopefully providing useful resources for those who need them.

THE FILMMAKERS

Julie Forrest Wyman’s films engage embodiment, body image, and media spectatorship—informed by living with hypochondroplasia dwarfism. Her 2012 Strong! aired on Independent Lens. Her work is supported by Sundance, Sandbox, IDA, SF Film Society, Points North, Creative Capital, Princess Grace, Logan Nonfiction, CalHumanities, and NEH.

Jonna McKone produced All Light, Everywhere (2021, HULU/Super LTD, Sundance Special Jury Award), Margie Soudek’s Salt and Pepper Shakers (2023, Sundance) and Your Final Meditation (Rockaway, 2024). She is a visual artist whose work has shown in galleries with the support of awards including Rubys Artist Grant and Maryland State Arts Council.

Lindsey Dryden is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. She produced Unrest, which won the Sundance Special Jury Award, and Trans In America. She directed Lost and Sound, which premiered at SXSW. She co-founded FWD-Doc, and is a member of QueerDoc. She is a Sundance Institute Documentary Producers Lab Fellow and a voting member of BAFTA.

Shaleece Haas is an Emmy Award-winning documentary producer and director with 15 years’ experience in the field. Producing credits include Trans in America (Emmy Award, 2018), Asian Americans (Peabody Award, 2020), and Delikado (Nominee, Emmy Award, 2022). She directed Real Boy (Independent Lens, 2016) and To the Future, with Love (POV, 2021).

ABOUT OUR HOST

Sydney Alison is an independent film producer, actor, and comedian based in Tulsa, where she enjoys collaborating with other local filmmakers/production companies on projects ranging from feature documentaries to short narrative films and promotional content for local nonprofits. A wheelchair user, Sydney is a passionate advocate for disability representation and accessibility in film and television. Sydney is actively involved in Tulsa’s film community, hosting events at Circle Cinema, Tulsa’s only nonprofit arthouse cinema. A University of Tulsa alumna, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies and a minor in Innovation & Entrepreneurship. While at TU, Sydney was involved in the Film Club, TUTV, and the university's Filmmaking & Screenwriting Camps for high school students.