Sky Documentaries are delighted to announce the UK release dates of OTTO BAXTER: NOT A F***ING HORROR STORY and the accompanying short film THE PUPPET ASYLUM. Described as “powerful…revelatory…and endlessly funny” by Screen Daily, the documentary will screen in UK and Irish cinemas from September 1 with select cinemas screening the documentary and short as a double bill. Both will be available on Sky Documentaries and NOW TV from September 23.

OTTO BAXTER: NOT A F***ING HORROR STORY follows Otto Baxter, a 35-year-old man with Down Syndrome, over six years, as he writes and directs a foul-mouthed, autobiographical comedy-horror-musical set in Victorian London. Otto, who has always struggled to explain how he feels, uses his film The Puppet Asylum to explore his birth, adoption and his epic battle with ‘The Master’ – an evil magician hell-bent on controlling his life. During the filmmaking process Otto’s birth mother dies and he finds himself confronting life in the real world, including his future. Otto’s filmmaker friends Bruce Fletcher and Peter Beard help him to bring his vision to life, but also learn more about his unique perspective on the world and how they can play a role in his future.

Set in Victorian London, THE PUPPET ASYLUM, is an allegorical horror biopic written and directed by Otto Baxter as a reimagining of his own life, from birth to becoming his own master. Fusing horror, dark comedy, an evocative soundtrack and a foul-mouthed ventriloquist’s dummy, this entirely unique short film is a macabre story of a misunderstood child on a path to controlling their own life. The film stars Paul Kaye, Rebecca Callard, Myanna Buring, Otto Baxter, and Ruben Reuter with the Voice of Dexter Fletcher and Adeel Akhtar, and features an original score by Ed Harcourt

THE PUPPET ASYLUM is the first original commission of this scale, written and directed by a person with Down Syndrome, to be ordered by a major British broadcaster. THE PUPPET ASYLUM is written and directed by Otto Baxter and produced by Peter Beard, Bruce Fletcher and Daisy Allsop.

Sally Phillips serves as executive producer. OTTO BAXTER: NOT A F***ING HORROR STORY is directed by BAFTA winners Bruce Fletcher and Peter Beard and produced by Daisy Allsop. David Nath is the executive producer. Produced by Story Films and Archface Films, in association with Sky Studios, and developed with the support of the BFI awarding National Lottery funding. Poppy Dixon and Hayley Reynolds are executive producers for Sky on both projects.