Thursday May 9, 2013
LIFE & DEAF: That’s Not All Of Me
Director: Eelyn Lee, England
RT: 9:00
Language: British Sign Language (BSL)/English, English Subtitles
Deaf children across the UK submitted poems to the Life & Deaf website between 2006 and 2011. These poems represent a broad range of positive and negative thoughts and feelings about deafness and identity. To honour this body of work, extracts from over 50 of these poems were woven together to create the collective poem ‘That’s not all of me”. This poem formed the basis of the script for the short film. Deaf young people aged 11–22 years collaborated with creative professionals, participating as writers, consultants, actors, make-up artists and producers to create the moving short film ‘Life & Deaf: That’s not all of me’.
Filmed in London, ‘Life & Deaf: That’s not all of me’ evokes the lives of a set of characters who are young, deaf and wanting to be heard. With dialogue written in poetic verse and presented in spoken English, Sign Supported English and British Sign Language, the film takes us on a dream-like journey through markets, housing estates and the river Thames. Many of the lines are delivered straight to camera creating a direct and sometimes awkward relationship with the viewer but ultimately the film is a teenage plea for recognition by the city itself.
Screening: 10:01am-10:09am
Screener available for review purposes
Second Chance
Director: Carmen Amaya, USA
RT: 23:00
Language: ASL, English Subtitles
This short film examines the relationship between a Mexican hearing family and their Deaf daughter, Ruby. Ruby’s hunger for communication conflicts with her mother’s ideas of raising a Deaf child. Their lives come to a turning point where they find themselves with a question, “Is it too late to start over?”
Screening: 10:19am-10:42am
Screener available for review purposes
DEAF JAM
Director: Judy Lief, USA
RT: 70:00
Language: ASL/English, English Subtitles
Deaf Jam is the story of deaf teen Aneta Brodski’s bold journey into the spoken word slam scene. In a wondrous twist, Aneta, an Israeli immigrant living in the Queens section of New York City, eventually meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet. The two women embark on a collaboration/performance duet creating a new form of slam poetry that speaks to both the hearing and the Deaf.
Screening: 10:50AM-12:00pm & 8:20pm
Screener available for review purposes
Crossing the Divide
Director: Cathy Heffernan, England
RT: 16:15
Language: British Sign Language (BSL), English Subtitles
Crossing the Divide is a documentary about a love story and friendship in Belfast during the Irish Troubles. It shows how the Deaf community overcame the religious and political divisions that spilt Northern Ireland for 30 years.
Screening: 8:00pm-8:17pm
Screener available for review purposes
Friday May 10, 2013
Two Worlds
Director: Alex Vann/Gary O’Dowd, England
RT: 9:00
Language:British Sign Language (BSL)/English, English Subtitles
This film is about ‘Two Worlds’ – Deaf and Hearing – and is split into two sections. The first section is an interview documentary with a profoundly Deaf adult about his experiences growing up and the second section is a performance of a song written about those experiences. The song is presented in 2 languages, BSL and English, at the same time, using ‘split screen’ technology. The message is that barriers can be broken down by using language to communicate with one another and learn about different cultures. This opens up new worlds and wider opportunities for everyone.
Screening: 1:01-1:09pm
Screener available for review purposes
Departure Lounge
Director: Louis Neethling, England
RT: 27:00
Language: British Sign Language (BSL)/English, English Subtitles
Departure Lounge is a celebration of the friendship and deaf solidarity that develops between Sid, an ailing older man and Matt, a young hospital cleaner. Sid is angry, frightened and isolated. Neither his doctors nor his wife, Morag, seem able to help or comfort him. Matt, is also frightened and uncertain – he has a partner, Jill, and a baby, but Matt is running away from his responsibilities. It is their deafness that creates the initial bond between the two men. Matt breaks down Sid’s isolation by taking him up on to the roof of the hospital and together they create a sort of deaf club in the sky. Here they sit and talk, fall out and make up, speculate on the wonders of a deaf heaven, and slowly come to realise that, despite everything, each can give courage to the other.
Screening: 1:10PM-1:38PM
Screener available for review purposes
Little World
Director: Becky Bailey, England
RT: 7:40
Language: British Sign Language (BSL), English Subtitles
In this animated short set in the Victorian era, “Little World” tells the story of a young Deaf woman called Beth. Now an adult, she visits the crumbling old Deaf school where she grew up, and she remembers fondly how it shaped her.
Screening: 1:39-1:44PM
Screener available for review purposes
Still Here
Director: Louis Neethling, England
RT: 27:00
Language: British Sign Language (BSL)/English, English Subtitles
Friends and fellow Deaf club performers : Les, Reg, Cyril and Ruby, have been together for over 30 years. When Ruby falls ill their lives are thrown in to turmoil; she has been the one keeping them together. Relationships are put to the test and a sudden realization that they’re not young any more adds to the situation. Les’ son, Paul, replaces Ruby in the group but will that be enough to save their performing group? Still Here is a black comedy that looks at friendship, aging and change. A film that celebrates the senior members of the Deaf club community.
Screening: 1:45PM-2:12PM
Screener available for review purposes
Ik Gebaar, Ik Leef/I Sign, I Live
Director: Anja Hiddinga/Jascha Blume, Netherlands
RT: 58:00
Language: Dutch sign language/Dutch, English Subtitles
Jascha is a young deaf art student who doesn’t much care about the hearing world. But he can’t escape it if he wants to fulfill his ambitions. This makes him rebellious and uncertain. Armed with a camera, he visits Europe’s only home for elderly deaf people and tries to find out how these people have lived their lives. They tell him about their youth, when sign language was forbidden, and about their struggles against embarrassment and indignities. Though Jascha’s world is very different he finds himself wondering whether some answers to his questions might be found in their stories. His fight for equality and respect, both as an individual and as a member of a cultural minority, the Deaf community, echo the life experiences of the elderly.
The deaf community in The Netherlands is small and (as in most countries) its sign language is not officially recognized by the government. The denial of access, of equal opportunities to live, work and participate in society are on top of the agenda of the Deaf movement. Jascha’s camera images, sometimes edited in split screen, are comments on what he encounters, and reflections on his own life. All dialogue is in Dutch Sign Language.
Screening: 2:13-3:12PM
Screener available for review purposes
The Lonely Fish
Director: James Cooley, USA
RT: 21:00
Language: English
A lonely man desperately seeks to fall in love with someone until a mysterious woman from the deep sea offers love, and lures him into the sea. Is she the one?
Screening: 3:12-3:37PM
Screener available for review purposes
September 11
Director: Raabia Hussain, England
RT: 10:50
Language: British Sign Language (BSL)/English, English Subtitles
September 11 is a personal account of the effects of September 11, 2001 on a young Deaf Muslim teenager, who faces racism from both inside and outside the Deaf community, making her question her faith.
Screening: 3:38-3:53pm
Screener available for review purposes
Teacher Explorer
Director: Ladan Sahraei, Iran
RT: 6:20
Language: Farsi, English Subtitles
Teacher explorer is a short documentary which aims at paying homage, by introducing and highlighting the importance of Djabbar Baghchehban, the man responsible for founding and establishing the first even deaf school in Iran and how he dedicated his life to the deaf society in Iran.
Screening: 7:30-7:36PM
Screener available for review purposes
Hello
Director: Taha Ghanimifard, Iran
RT: 6:00
Language: Farsi, English Subtitles
A deaf girl is not accepted by ordinary school and she is helped by a man who teaches deaf students. This animation commemorates late Mr. Jabbar Bagh-Cheban the first Iranian teacher of deaf students.
Screening:Screening: 7:40-7:46
Screener available for review purposes
Alors on Danse / So, We Dance
Director: Chantal Deguire, Canada
RT: 3:25
Language: Quebec Sign Language (LSQ), English Subtitles
Music/LSQ—A song by Belgium singer Stromae, interpreted in Quebec Sign Language. Observe how the editor’s work brings dynamism to the signers/dancers and humour.
Screening: 7:50-7:53
Screener available for review purposes
Lake Windfall
Director: Roger Vass, USA
RT: 120:00
USA | Language:ASL, English Subtitles
Matt (Christopher B. Corrigan) gets his brother, Drew (Alex Laferriere), along with their friends, together for a fun getaway camping trip. It is supposed to be a weekend of male-bonding, but everything isn’t what it seems. Suddenly, they experience an apocalyptic event and are forced to focus on their own survival.
Screening: 9:45-11:59PM
Saturday May 11th, 2013
Lost & Sound
Director: Lindsey Dryden, England
RT: 70:00
Language: English, English Subtitles
Imagine waking up in the morning to find that the world sounds utterly different—and music is suddenly unrecognizable. All the songs you loved and all the songs you’ve yet to discover are suddenly out of reach. Could you find a way to get music back again… and could music find you?
Screening: 9:30AM-10:40AM
Screener available for review purposes
Mom, Tell Me a Tale
Director: Pavel Rodionov, Russia
RT: 2:00
Language: Russian, English Subtitles
The social clip “Mother, tell a tale” is about the importance of the use of Russian sign language to communicate with a deaf child. Well-known actors of the national cinema Mikhina Tatiana, Kirill Rubtsov and the leading Russian TV Olga Shelest took part in this clip.
Screening: 10:40-10:42AM
Screener available for review purposes
You, Me
Director: Simon Herdman, England
RT: 23:30
Language: British Sign Language (BSL), English Subtitles
A charming family drama set during Christmas, inter-cutting two stories at both ends of the age range: a little girl learns that Santa might not be Deaf, and an old teacher must find a new calling after his Deaf school is closed due to budget cuts.
Screening: 10:41-11:02AM
Screener available for review purposes
Five Needles
Director: Julian Peddle-Calloo, England
RT: 13:44
Language: British Sign Language (BSL), English Subtitles
Five Needles follows the lives of four Deaf Jewish women as they strive to find security and peace within the confines and routine of a Nazi sewing factory.
Screening: 11:03-11:27AM
Screener available for review purposes
White Space
Director: Maya Washington
RT: 8:47 | USA
Language: ASL/English, English Subtitles
White Space, follows the inner life of a deaf performance poet as he makes his debut at an open-mic night for a hearing audience. Can the language of the heart emancipate the inner voice, transcending the white space between a hearing audience and a deaf man’s soul?
Screening: 2:00PM-2:09PM
Screener available for review purposes
Austin Unbound
Director: Eliza Greenwood, USA
RT: 42:43
Language: ASL, English Subtitles
Austin is deaf and transgender, but identifies as a straight man. He yearns to remove his breasts so he may stop binding and breathe freely. His journey is an inspiration to many, his self awareness, humor, and personality long recognized and honored in his community.
Screening: 2:10PM-2:53PM
Screener available for review purposes
Two Deaf Babies
Director: ASL Rose & Braam Jordaan, South Africa/USA
RT: 1:00
Language: ASL, English Subtitles
Two Deaf babies. One is raised without access to signed language, and the other one is raised with access to signed language.
Screening: 2:54PM-2:55PM
Screener available for review purposes
Silent Music
Director: Melissa Gomez, Antigua/USA
RT: 71:06
Language: English
Every family has secrets, but very few ever get to the heart of what they are. Silent Music is the story of one daughter’s attempt to do just that.
Screening: 2:56PM-4:10PM
Screener available for review purposes
Confession
Director: Julian Peddle-Calloo, England
RT: 24:00
Language: British Sign Language (BSL), English Subtitles
Set in the aftermath of the Milan Conference, which promoted oralism over Sign language, “Confession” is a historical drama set during the Victorian era depicting the culture battle between oralism and Signing in the Deaf community. Featuring the real historical figures of Alexander Graham Bell and Reverend Francis Maginn as they battle for the future of Deaf culture, the film depicts the true consequences of the Milan conference held 10 years previously.
Screening: 4:15-4:40PM
Screener available for review purposes
El Sueño Impactante/The Impactful Dream
Director: Alejandio Gallardo Enriquez, Mexico
RT: 30:00
Language: Spanish, English Subtitles
This is the story of a young couple with a marriage problem. He struggled with alcohol addiction. She was desperate because of his drinking problem. But after a serious accident, destiny changed his life.
Screening: 4:40-5:15PM
Screener available for review purposes
Coming Home
Director: Louis Neethling, England
RT: 27:00
Language: British Sign Language (BSL)/English, English Subtitles
Mark, a young deaf man, adopted by hearing parents, is determined to uncover the truth about his past but in so doing reveals a tragic family secret. Mark and his girlfriend, Kate, travel to Suffolk to find out about his birth mother, and why she gave Mark up for adoption. However, the atmosphere at his birth mother’s cottage, flashes of recovered memory, the revelations of local people and, above all, the combination of beauty and menace in the huge skies and tidal rivers of the landscape – combine to create an environment in which the past crashes into to the present in a film which asks whether the ‘truth’ is always empowering or is it sometimes wiser to forget the past?
Screening: 6:31-6:57PM
Screener available for review purposes