The UK's leading Deaf Film & Arts Festival

Due to the current situation with Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the need to prioritise the safety of both the staff and the audience members, the Deaffest on Tour’s Newcastle event will be postponed.

The event, which was due to take place on 13^th June, is hosted by Deaffest and SignVideo and we will continue to work together to reschedule the event.

We will announce the new date in the near future; please keep an eye on our website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We wish you good health.

Stay safe.

We hope everybody is okay during this difficult time with the coronavirus.

We wanted to update you on the Deaffest on Tour’s Newcastle event as some of you may be wondering if this will go ahead.  Whilst we are keeping up to date with the latest news and guidelines from the Government, as well as closely monitoring the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, the Newcastle event will go ahead as planned in June.

Should the situation not improve in near future, we will inform you of our next plan of action.  We understand the reluctance to make future plans and we will do our best to keep you updated.  Please keep an eye on our website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For any enquiries please contact our PR Liaison Officer Lou Parrott at enquiries@deaffest.co.uk.

Thank you for your support with this event and take care.

We’re thrilled to share that for the first time ever, we will be taking Deaffest On Tour this year!

The Deaffest that you all know and love, is returning to Wolverhampton next year, Spring 2021.  Meanwhile, Deaffest on Tour, hosted by Zebra Access, will travel to different locations throughout the UK to give local audiences an insight into Deaffest’s Deaf Films and Arts.

Our first stop is Newcastle and we are pleased to be hosting the event in partnership with SignVideo, a UK-based Video Relay Service and Video Remote Interpreting Provider as part of their 15^th anniversary celebrations!

Founded by well known deaf entrepreneur Jeff McWhinney in 2004, SignVideo provides British Sign Language (BSL) video interpreting services to enable easy communication between the community of over 150,000 deaf BSL users in the UK and hearing people.  As a predominantly deaf-led organisation, they provides their service to the government, NHS, Councils, UK banks, telecommunications providers, energy providers, helplines and more.

“I’m really delighted to embark upon this new partnership with SignVideo to create an event in Newcastle where the local community can get involved with and engage in Deaf Films and Arts. I look forward to learning more about what Newcastle has to offer in Deaf Films and Arts and hopefully to seeing many things prosper from this event.” – Nikki Stratton, Deaffest Co-Founder

“As a former resident of the North East, I am delighted that SignVideo is going into partnership with Deaffest On Tour Newcastle, to be their main sponsor.  Headed by our Community Representative, Charles Murphy, this shows SignVideo’s commitment to the Deaf Community in the North East. 

SignVideo is passionate about promoting independence.  Instantly connecting Deaf and hearing people, through an on-screen interpreter, creates a more equal society that is fairer for everyone.  We are excited to be part of the Deaffest On Tour, see you there!” – Ashley Kendall, Growth and Development Manager

The event will take place on Saturday 13^th June 2020 at Northern Stage, Barras Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RH.  During the day there will be a variety of events including a stalls fair, film screenings, workshops and an exhibition.  Day time fee is £3 (16 years and under free).  There will be entertainment in the evening and tickets will be on sale soon – keep an eye on our website for more information.

We hope you can join us in supporting the talents of emerging and established D/deaf filmmakers and artists!