Keyword Deaf Culture

A spate of robberies in Southern California schools had an oddly specific target: tubas. In this work of creative nonfiction, d/Deaf first-time feature director Alison O’Daniel presents the impact of these crimes from an unexpected angle. The film unfolds mimicking a game of telephone, where sound’s feeble transmissibility is proven as the story bends and weaves to human interpretation and miscommunication. The result is a stunning contribution to cinematic language. O’Daniel has developed a syntax of deafness that offers a complex, overlaid, surprising new texture, which offers a dimensional experience of deafness and reorients the audience auditorily in an unfamiliar and exhilarating way.

Through visual metaphors and circumstantial installations, Chella Man explores his cyborg identity and personal relationship to the freedom and constraints cochlear implants created.

After a horrific encounter with a stranger, two friends, one blind and other deaf, use their senses to defend themselves from a robbery gone.

The end of every relationship has a beginning. When Shelby and Mason get to the beach they realize that neither of them brought sunscreen. Who's to blame? - This film observes how accountability is handled in a crumbling relationship.

When a Deaf hitman goes to kill his Deaf target, the two get caught up in an argument over what should constitute appropriate last words, as the evening becomes increasingly absurd.

Aubrey brings her girlfriend Kat to meet her family for the first time at an intimate family dinner and is met with hostile disapproval. During the evening, tensions rise, and the toxic dynamic reaches a breaking point.

Featuring an entirely Deaf cast and shot exclusively in American Sign Language, this is the story of a desperate, grieving couple who think they have found the only therapist who can help them - but his methods might be worse than anyone imagined.

Inspired by stories of a distant place, best friends Tyrone and Clinton must fight to find a way out of Tarneit, a place surrounded by violence and tradition.

It’s the first day of class, and a snarky young Deaf woman and her assigned interpreter must deal with a well-meaning but ignorant teacher. This well-crafted funny short brings laughs to an all-too-common situation.

In this engaging documentary, filmmaker MJ Kiego interviews Deaf parents of CODA children, who describe their feelings towards dealing with the barriers between the Deaf and hearing worlds while trying to parent. This unique and often underrepresented perspective on the CODA experience is both enlightening and refreshing.

5-year-old CODA Amanda is a precocious child who is celebrating her birthday with a family dinner. When her Deaf parents start arguing, however, she has had enough. Short and sweet, this cheeky short packs a good punchline.

Raina, once the only Deaf and Disabled person in her film school, reconnects with her ex-boyfriend and former college Teaching Assistant, Sebastian, and soon it becomes clear the ways in which ableism had a hand in their relationship’s trajectory. Writer/Director Darian Slattery shines as Raina in this unique story that challenges expectations surrounding disability representation with humor and insight.

Futsal is a variation of soccer played mainly indoors on a hardcourt, and Lucindha Lawson recently made history as the first Deaf Asian woman to win gold for England in the European Women’s Deaf Futsal Championship. In this conversation with Deaf TV host Deepa Shastri, Lawson discusses how she navigated a difficult childhood to become the thriving athlete she is today.

Deaf British actor/performer David Ellington performs his powerful poem “Liberty” that draws on visual vernacular, sign mime and BSL to explore topics of equality, freedom, division and unity. Ellington’s commanding presence takes center stage, bringing life to his compelling original work.

Following artist Christine Sun Kim from New York to Los Angeles and from Berlin to London, this short documentary tells the story of the artist’s practice, which spans across drawing, performance, video, large-scale murals, and beyond. Through infographics, motion lines, musical notations and humor, Kim’s work reflects not only the exhausting activity of demanding access and rights as a Deaf person but also the exhaustion of anyone fighting to be heard.

A Deafblind fencer and author competes in all arenas just for the right to be seen.

Following the loss of his fiancé, Jason struggles to process his haunted emotions. This touching drama takes a creative approach to remind us that grief is different for everyone and that real love is never forgotten.

Deaf Australian man Barry Priori was a thriving teacher, adventurer and tireless advocate for sign language and Deaf culture throughout his life. Having experienced oppression and language deprivation from his hearing family, Priori made it his mission to empower his fellow Aussie Deaf community and educate the world around him.

After serving 27 years in prison isolated from language and community, Solange, an older Deaf woman, is ready to start life anew. This lovely touching film from director Audrey Sangla explores what it means to “bloom” again in freedom.