To view the screening schedule for the nominated entries and festival screenings at Deaffest 2026, click the buttons below.
The screenings listed below will take place in SCREEN 4 at the LockWorks Cinema (18 Fryer Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 1HT) on Sunday 10th May.
All screenings are subtitled. To register for your Sunday ticket – visit here.
Titles on the Deaffest Online Cinema will be available to watch from 1st April until 31st May 2026.
10:00am: Detachable
Dir. Joshua Carver, UK, 2025 (Dur. 28min)
A young deaf woman wakes up hungover in the back of her car. She can’t find the processor for her cochlear implant and is unable to hear anything without it, so she attempts to retrace her steps from the night before. Meanwhile, two children find an unfamiliar magnetic object in the grass, but don’t know what to do with it.
Content warning: This programme contains mild adult themes.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
10:28am: Dinner Table Syndrome
Dir. Charlie Ainsworth, USA, 2025 (Dur. 13min)
A lonely deaf boy armed with “miracle cure” cochlear implants navigates a Thanksgiving dinner with the strangers who call themselves his family.
Content warning: This programme contains references to audism, oralism, and dinner table syndrome.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
10:41am: Language is Life
Dir. Stanko Pavlica, Switzerland, 2025 (Dur. 6min)
Growing up in silence, a 14-year-old deaf refugee has never known school, writing, or spoken language. In Switzerland, an interpreter discovers him and opens the door to a language school in Zurich. There, he encounters sign language for the very first time – unlocking communication, identity, and a sense of belonging. Based on a true story, Language is Life is a powerful testimony to how language can restore not only words, but an entire life.
Content warning: This programme contains themes of mild emotional distress.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
10:47am: My Deaf Papa
Dir. Anthony Cheung, Hong Kong, 2024 (Dur. 20min)
Wyatt is a deaf father who works quiet night shifts, coming home only to share breakfast with his daughter, Allison. As a CODA, Allison navigates a world Wyatt can’t hear, finding her own voice by teaching sign language on content creation platforms. But when her videos go viral, the sudden exposure leads to a heated clash. In a moment of anger, Wyatt accidentally breaks Allison’s camera. Now, he must find a way to repair more than just a lens, bridging the gap between his silence and her world.
Content warning: This programme contains depictions of physical and emotional abuse.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
11:07am: たちを祝福してください (Please Bless us)
Dir. Tomomi Yokoo, Japan, 2024 (Dur. 62min)
This is a film that artistically depicts the hardships faced by deaf women in Japan, such as forced sterilization through eugenic surgery, the era when the use of sign language was prohibited, and the decline in court compensation for women with disabilities. It’s a silent movie. Sometimes the screams of deaf old women are included.
Content warning: This programme contains references to miscarriage and violence.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
12:09pm: Remote Strutting
Dir. Lorna Fitzsimons, Ireland, 2024 (Dur. 12min)
An imaginative young IT professional battles self-limitations that prevent her from stepping out of her comfort zone and into the real world.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
12:21pm: Smothered Hands
Dir. Iléana Pansiot-Villon, France, 2024 (Dur. 20min)
When Maya and Nora join Lucas to plan a dinner at an Italian restaurant, latent tensions emerge between them. What should have been a moment of camaraderie takes an unexpected turn, casting doubt on the future of their friendship.
Content warning: This programme contains themes of a toxic relationship.
(Unavailable on Deaffest Online Cinema)
12:41pm: So Beautiful
Dir. Sofya Gollan, Australia, 2025 (Dur. 10min)
An experimental short documentary about an Auslan Sprite who must protect her sign language in order to survive.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
12:51pm: Strawberry Cheesecake
Dir. Sean L. McParland, Australia, 2025 (Dur. 9min)
An ice cream cart, a sunset, and a shared memory—two strangers rediscover a connection that speaks louder than words.
This film was made in collaboration with Bus Stop Films participants in Gold Coast, QLD.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
1:00pm: The Power of Goodbye
Dir. Audrey Sangla, France, 2025 (Dur. 23min)
When Christiane learns that her daughter Margot, who is suffering from a degenerative disease, wants to end her life, she is forced to confront a profound challenge to her maternal love.
Content warning: This programme contains references to illness and death
(Unavailable on Deaffest Online Cinema)
The screenings listed below will take place in MC001 at the University of Wolverhampton (Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV1 1LY) on Saturday 9th May.
All screenings are subtitled. To purchase your Saturday daytime ticket – visit here.
Titles on the Deaffest Online Cinema will be available to watch from 1st April until 31st May 2026.
10:15am: Beyond Silence
Dir. Marnie Blok, Netherlands, 2024 (Dur. 16min)
Two women, two generations, same trauma. One has been silent for over thirty years, the other ‘only’ for a year and a half. Where one decides to remain silent after a confrontation, the other finds the courage to break the silence.
Content warning: This programme contains discussions of sexual assault.
(Unavailable on Deaffest Online Cinema)
10:31am: Where The Light Get In
Dir. Clare-Louise English, UK, 2024 (Dur. 28min)
A deaf mum’s anxiety threatens to overwhelm her, as it affects her relationships with those she loves, she risks losing her son.
Content warning: This programme contains references to mental health.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
10:59am: Reunion
Dir. Luke Snellin, UK, 2025 (Dur. 56min)
REUNION is a four-part revenge thriller from the producers of EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE and THIS IS ENGLAND, told through the unique point of view of a deaf man isolated from society, both physically and emotionally. We meet Brennan, a convicted murderer, as he leaves prison, unable to live in the hearing world and unwanted by the deaf world that he once loved so much, with one clear mission on his mind.
Content warning: This programme contains strobe effects and loud noises, scenes of bereavement and violence, and other material some viewers may find distressing.
(Unavailable on Deaffest Online Cinema)
12:00pm: Becoming Jazzy Whipps
Dir. Bim Ajadi, UK, 2024 (Dur. 11min)
An uplifting and inspiring film that goes behind the scenes with Jazzy Whipps, the UK’s biggest Deaf social media influencer as she tells us the story of how she got there and what comes next.
Content warning: This programme contains references to mental health, bullying, and online abuse.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
12:11pm: Eye of the Game
Dir. Ramas McRae, Australia, 2025 (Dur. 14min)
Born profoundly Deaf, an Australian Rules footballer defies expectations by playing in an all-hearing team, striving to break out of the reserves and claim a position in the seniors.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
12:25pm: Medal Chase
Dir. Kevin Shiva, Sweden, 2025 (Dur. 10min)
Meet Rudolfs, currently one of the top deaf swimmers in the world. Medal Chase is a short film that dives into his ambitious journey, the emotional and physical hurdles and the profound personal sacrifices he had to make along the way.
The film explores not just what Rudolfs has endured, but why he continues to push forward. What truly motivates someone to give everything for a dream?
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
12:35pm: Turn Up The Bass
Dir. Ted Evans, UK, 2024 (Dur. 12min)
A documentary telling the remarkable and little-known story of Troi Lee, aka DJ Chinaman, the unstoppable force behind the UK’s deaf music and rave scene. Twenty years of archive footage is interwoven with interviews and actuality, charting Troi’s evolution from underground raver to festival headliner.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
12:55pm: Deliverance
Dir. Bim Ajadi, UK, 2025 (Dur. 14min)
Kemi, a mother torn between love, tradition and modernity, seeks a cure for her deaf daughter, risking family bonds in the process.
Content warning: This programme discusses attitudes to deafness, heritage, and religion, and contains implied use of a razor blade and depictions of blood.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
1:09pm: Don’t Look
Dir. Danny Murphy, UK, 2024 (Dur. 14min)
A group of friends plays ‘Don’t Look,’ a game where opening your eyes summons deadly spirits. Their thrill turns to terror as they unleash supernatural forces and must confront their worst fears to survive.
Content warning: This programme contains some swearing, gore, and scenes of death.
(Unavailable on Deaffest Online Cinema)
1:23pm: Familiar Stranger
Dir. Ace Mahbaz, UK, 2025 (Dur. 15min)
Familiar Stranger is an intimate, dialogue-light drama about identity, belonging, and the unexpected ways two people can find connection across discomfort and time.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
1:38pm: Remember Me
Dir. Lisa Kelly, UK, 2025 (Dur. 15min)
Remember Me is an intimate monologue that tells the story of Emma, a deaf BSL user who lives alone with her Father who is also deaf.
Content warning: This programme contains references to domestic violence.
(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)
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