The nominated entries, listed below, will be screened at the Arena Theatre (Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1SE) on Saturday the 11th of May 2024 from 10.00am to 5.00pm. All screenings are subtitled.

10.05am: Alfredo Corrado | Dir. Julien Bourges, France

Julien Bourges partly retraces the life of Alfredo Corrado, an American deaf artist. 

Today, considered an important figure in the French deaf community, Alfredo Corrrado came to Paris in the late 1970s, at a time when sign language was forbidden and scorned. 

This unique documentary on Alfredo Corrado recounts the creation of International Visual Theater (IVT) and the adventures of the first deaf theater in France at the Château de Vincennes, which changed the history of deaf people in France. 

11.35am: Birmingham Made Me | Dir. Rinkoo Barpaga, UK

Rinkoo Barpaga is a multi-disciplined performer making a name for himself on the comedy circuit. But as a Deaf Asian man, his journey to success hasn’t been easy. (Content may contain Strong language and Swearing)

12.03pm: Elevated | Dir. Palmer Morse, USA

Effective communication is a challenge every climber faces. It’s a sport that requires intense focus, dedication, and overcoming fear. For Deaf climber Sonya Wilson, communication and community is of vital importance. Elevated is a non-verbal film sharing Sonya’s experience as a Deaf woman and outdoor advocate working to bridge the gap between the Deaf community and the outdoor industry, one crag at a time. (Content may contain Swearing)

12.18pm: Step Up: Ready to Drive | Dir. Aimee Campbell-Nottage, UK

Coco and Mandy are sisters who love to cook, and they are about to embark on a new business venture … a mobile food van.

12.46pm: Firefly | Dir. Anna-Marie Scragg, UK

A young girl who is deaf, living in a rural fishing village with her widower Dad and Grandad, sees her life turned upside down when she is left with an increasingly abusive stepmother. A story of resilience against adversity. (Content may contain scenes of Violence and Ableism)

1.02pm: MISH + GRAHAM | Dir. Nathan Crossan-Smith, UK

It’s 2032. The Connect App has changed everything: it could be the answer to the social care crisis or the beginning of the commodification of care. An unlikely friendship between two strangers in four meetings, moving between BSL and spoken English. Ready to Connect?

1.14pm: Night Shift | Dir. Bim Ajadi, UK

A Deaf, female security guard on the night shift observes a man in the midst of a crisis: they find a new way to communicate. (Content may contain Suicidal themes)

1.25pm: The Singer | Dir. Cora Bissett, UK

Joe is a young deaf man whose ambition in life is to become a singer. Only when he stumbles across struggling street musician Andy, who himself is losing his hearing, do they discover how much they can help each other to become a symbiotic performing team

1.45pm: D Minor | Dir. Luke Williams, UK

When a deaf man’s deceased wife appears when he plays her guitar, he decides to make a song to bring his memories of her back to life.

2.06pm: Diagnonsense | Dir. Samuel Dore, UK

Diagnonsense is a drama set in 1996 at a psychiatric hospital where Deaf Social Worker Louise meets Patrick, a Deaf patient who has been kept there for 36 years and wrongly diagnosed as schizophrenic by Dr. Nicholson. Louise has to fight discriminatory attitudes to get an institutionalised Patrick to appeal against his diagnosis to get him released but he has to recall his painful memories of the events that led to his incarceration. (Content may contain themes of Mental Health, Misdiagnosis and Surdophobia)

2.34pm: Pas le choix | Dir. Hrysto, France

Hugo is a cabaret drag artist at “Chez Titi”. With his sister Victoria, his faithful friend Matt, and all the regulars of the famous cabaret at hand, Hugo takes to the stage for his latest number. Afterwards, when he is found murdered in his dressing room, Matt seems to be the obvious culprit… but is he? 

“No Choice” is both a murder mystery and a bilingual psychological thriller which addresses the themes of guilt, falsehood, and identity, performed in French Sign Language (LSF) and French. 

3.32pm: You shall hear | Dir. Petra Katharina Wagner, Germany

Mila, who is under two years old, is deaf and lives in an intact family with her parents and older brother, who are also deaf. During a routine examination, the doctor finds out that Mila’s auditory nerve is developed, with the insertion of a cochlear implant and appropriate support, she would have the chance to develop almost normal hearing and speech. The doctor wants to give Mila a “normal” life. The parents reject the operation because they don’t see her deafness as a defect and the hospital calls in the youth welfare office and the case goes to court.