Our PR Officer, Lou Parrott, shares how the day’s events went!
Deaffest on Tour partnered with Film Africa, the Royal African Society’s biennial festival and London’s biggest celebration of African and African diaspora cinema. On Thursday the 3rd of November 2022, at Film Africa’s 10th edition of the festival, Deaffest on Tour presented three events; a workshop led by David Ellington, film screenings, and a live panel discussion led by BSL TV presenter Ahmed Mudawi.
The afternoon started off with David Ellington leading his sold out ‘A Personal Perspective from a Black Deaf Filmmaker’ workshop at Rich Mix in London.
The educative workshop consisted of experiences shared by David from his filmmaking career, including some brilliant advice and tips, from how to source deaf representation in film, TV programmes, and documentaries, to working with deaf professionals on set. The valuable information was enriched with examples from David’s past work, including BSLBT’s TV drama ‘Hope’ and BBC See Hear’s ‘Dismantle Discrimination’. We hope the participants enjoyed the workshop!
Seven film screenings were later showcased, the film titles and synopses are available for you to take a look at here. The remarkable films have all been produced by deaf directors and/or include deaf actors/artists. The relationship between the cast and crew, especially between the deaf and hearing cast and crew members, is important to bear in mind from the initial scriptwriting and preparation process to the completion of the films. Preparation and communication play a crucial role in filmmaking and when watching these films, taking in the incredible storylines and visuals, this enhanced my appreciation of the work put in to make the films and share them with all of us.
Preparation is key, especially when communicating effectively according to one of the panellists, David Ellington, during the ‘Black + Deaf – Navigating in the Mainstream Media’ panel discussion, which took place after the screenings.
The panel discussion involved David himself, who’s a filmmaker and BSL consultant, actress Alexandra James, producer Earleatha Oppon, and filmmaker and performance artist Vilma Jackson – with BSL TV presenter Ahmed Mudawi as the host.
When conferring the topic of working with deaf people, David pointed out the benefits of Deaf Awareness, using basic British Sign Language (BSL) and the use of BSL interpreters. His input highlighted the colossal difference that taking those steps can make. Actress Alexandra James contributed with her struggles in working with a hearing cast and crew; and how the experiences negatively affected her confidence. However, when she had the opportunity to work under Director Bim Ajadi, who is deaf himself, Alexandra’s confidence grew, and she highlighted that it’s all down to communication. Earleatha Oppon talked about her experience working with Bim Ajadi as a Producer for the film Night Shift, providing an insight from her perspective as a hearing professional working in the media.
The topic later moved onto the use of BSL interpreters from the casting process to on set. David explained who would require BSL interpreters, and how they contribute to the smooth flow of communication between the director, cast, and crew. In addition to this, David and Vilma both clarified who the responsibility falls to in relation to the provision of BSL interpreters.
Tokenism versus authenticity: an exploration into this topic where the panellists discussed what could be seen as tokenism, and whether filmmakers authentically want to include deaf roles in their work. There is still a lack of Black deaf representation on screen which means a lack of role models for the younger Black deaf generation.
Kevin Walker a.k.a Signkid came up to the stage and contributed by providing his experience of working mostly with non-Black professionals as opposed to Black professionals, due to the opportunities offered. His input led to the panel deliberating over the lack of opportunities provided to Black deaf professionals in films, festivals, etc. from Black professionals in the media industry.
The panellists contributed on how to better the experience of navigating the mainstream media for Black deaf professionals, covering provisions for: opportunities where hearing producers/directors can gain better knowledge and be educated in working with deaf professionals, further inclusion of Black deaf professionals in media and film festivals, raising recognition of talents to producers/directors, especially Black producers/directors, and awareness and information on deaf role models amongst hearing families with deaf children. Black deaf representation behind the camera and on screen can be increased through finding new talents and providing them with opportunities, as David explained.
The atmosphere during the panel discussion was intense as the topics were fervently discussed in depth, with a lot of ground to cover on the gaps identified and how they have impacted the panellists. We hope that the views and opinions shared by the panellists will contribute to making a big step towards breaking barriers in mainstream media and promoting growth in opportunities in the future with further deaf representation behind the scenes and on screen, echoing Vilma’s impactful quote “I see you, you see me”.
A huge thank you to the panellists for their valuable contributions and to the panel host, Ahmed Mudawi, who fantastically led the panel discussion. We would also like to thank Film Africa and the staff involved, including Festival Producer Sarah Wechselberger, for working with us to bring the events into existence.
Photos above taken by Collins Lesulie
Deaffest 