Filmhouse announce a series of screenings and activities to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week on the first week of May. Deaf Awareness Week happens annually and aims to raise awareness of Deafness and hearing loss.
CODA won the Oscar and shone a light on Deaf representation on film, now to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week, Filmhouse will host a series of Deaf-themed screenings, including special BSL-interpreted introductions and a post-screening roundtable after the screening of A Quiet Place II.
Schedule:
Fri 06 May 18:30 – Encounters: Closer Together
Sat 07 May 17:40 – Sound Of Metal
Sun 08 May 18:15 – A Quiet Place Part II w/ roundtable featuring Charlotte Little, Leah Francisco and Jamie Rea
ABOUT THE FILMS
Encounters: Closer Together
Encounters is the UK’s leading short film, animation, and virtual reality festival. Encounters provides an international platform for celebrating talent and innovation in short film, animation, and virtual reality.
To celebrate Deaf Awareness Week (2-8 May) Encounters Film Festival presents a programme of shorts featuring deaf talent in front of and behind the camera, with the aim of celebrating and normalising onscreen D/deafness.
Sound of Metal
Metal drummer Ruben begins to lose his hearing. When a doctor tells him his condition will worsen, he thinks his career and life is over. His girlfriend Lou checks the former addict into a rehab for the deaf hoping it will prevent a relapse and help him adapt to his new life. After being welcomed and accepted just as he is, Ruben must choose between his new normal and the life he once knew.
A Quiet Place II
Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Charlotte Little
Charlotte Little is an access consultant working primarily in the film industry, advising cinemas, festivals, and other film organisations on access and inclusion for Disabled and Deaf audiences and a curator and writer with a specialised focus on disability in film.
Leah Francisco
Leah is Deaf and LGBTQ+ activist, performer. Leah is the subject of 2016 documentary film Silent Laughs directed by Natalia Kouneli which won an award for Best Documentary in 2017 at Deaffest. One of Leah’s recent poems, What is wrong with her?, was made into a short film commissioned by Solar Bear Theatre Company and won the Best Scottish Short award in 2020 at the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF). Also, Leah is an Associate Artist at Sanctuary Queer Arts.
Jamie Rea
Jamie is a Deaf artist and producer, raised in Northern Ireland and living in Glasgow since 2015. His first language is British Sign language (BSL). He was a member of the first cohort of students in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s BA Performance in BSL and English, graduating in 2018. He has collaborated with cultural organisations across England and Scotland including National Theatre of Scotland, BUZZCUT, Take Me Somewhere, Raw Material and Solar Bear, as a BSL consultant (including embedding access, hosting and promotion), workshop leader, and performer.
Allan Irvine, Community Engagement and Learning Manager, Filmhouse said:
We are very excited to present these special screenings and shine a light on Deaf awareness and Deaf representation. This is a great opportunity for Filmhouse to promote inclusivity and demonstrate that it is at the very heart of everything we do.