Deaffest

10:30am: Jesus – A Deaf Missions Film

Dir. Joseph D. Josselyn, USA, 2024 (Dur. 147min)

For the first time in history, viewers can experience the story of Jesus as a feature film entirely in American Sign Language. JESUS: a Deaf Missions film follows Jesus and His disciples through miracles, rising tension under Roman rule, and His challenge to the religious elite. The Jews anticipated a Messiah, but Jesus was not what they expected. Experience His love as He offers hope, forgiveness, and eternal life. Produced for Deaf by Deaf, the film features a fluent ASL cast. Deaf producer/director Joseph D. Josselyn and Deaf producer Michael Davis bring this historic film to life for Deaf audiences.

Content warning: This programme contains a bloody scene with depictions of fluffing and crucifixion.

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

12:57pm: Retreat

Dir. Ted Evans, UK, 2025 (Dur. 107min)

Raised in a secluded deaf community, cracks begin to appear in Matt’s world when the arrival of enigmatic outsider Eva forces him to question his own ‘deaf identity’ and lived experience.

2:44pm: Echoes Between Land and Blue Sky: The Lives of Monfolian Deaf Nomads

Dir. Itgel Byambadorj, Mongolia, 2025 (Dur. 31min)

3:15pm: The Making of Night Bloom

Dir. Cathy Mager & Alice Hu, UK/China, 2024 (Dur. 20min)

The Making of Night Bloom is an award-winning documentary about the creation of an immersive artwork led by Deaf artists from China and the UK. Winner of Best Documentary at Toronto’s Unify Film Festival, the film weaves creative process with powerful personal stories. It features Deaf Chinese elders who find connection through a vibrant Deaf club gathering beneath the trees of a city park, alongside young Deaf dancers carving out careers in a challenging mainstream world. Through Chinese Sign Language, movement and digital projection, the documentary reveals resilience, intergenerational exchange and the transformative power of Deaf-led collaboration across cultures.

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

3:40pm: Glass Cage

Dir. Jules Dameron, USA, 2025 (Dur. 13min)

A deaf woman battles an internal force gnawing at her will to live, in a haunting cinematic mood piece that explores isolation and resilience.

Content warning: This programme contains content related to suicide.

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

3:53pm: Serendipity by Sofia

Dir. Audrey Sangla, Norway, 2024 (Dur. 9min)

Sofia is an imaginative woman. She likes to imagine stories during her break, offering a playful perspective on everyday life. One day, Saga sits down on her bench. Determined to flirt, Sofia tries several humorous and awkward approaches to start a conversation. A book becomes an opportunity to deepen their relationship. However, their blossoming relationship takes an unexpected turn, leading to a brutal twist that reveals the unpredictability of human relationships.

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

4:02pm: Oh Girl, It Hurts

Dir. Pernille Vogt, Norway, 2024 (Dur. 16min)

Coming to terms with being queer isn’t always easy. Therese finds this out the day she meets Alex.

As she dares to open her heart to another woman for the first time, she’s faced with an unexpected obstacle — her own sister.

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

4:18pm: Quiproquo

Dir. Marie Bertrand & Sébastien Lamigou-Gratiaa, France, 2024 (Dur. 19min)

A making-of of the making-of of a making of

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

10:30am: A Quiet Love

Dir. Garry Keane, Ireland, 2025 (Dur. 95min)

In this intimate feature documentary, three Deaf couples share their remarkable love stories, through sign language: a 50 year forbidden love affair between a couple from both side of a religious divide, an LGBT couple traversing the challenges of parenting Deaf and hearing daughter, and a Deaf boxer and her hearing partner faced with an impossible decision. This collection of cinematic love letters explores the complexities of Deaf relationships and presents and uplifting portrait of enduring love. An immersive soundscape challenges conventional perceptions of sound.

Content warning: This programme contains archive material from the Northern Ireland conflict and references to pregnancy loss

(Unavailable on Deaffest Online Cinema)

12:05pm: Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore

Dir. Shoshannah Stern, USA, 2025 (Dur. 97min)

1:50pm: Eremos Trilogy

Dir. Sam Arnold, UK, 2025 (Dur. 24min)

Eremos Trilogy is the first-ever Deaf short film anthology, and entirely self-funded. Eremos derived from the Greek word for “solitude” is the central theme that connects all three films. The trilogy follows three different deaf protagonists as they navigate various forms of isolation in modern society. Each story explores challenges unique to the deaf community, blending gritty, thought-provoking narratives with a touch of dark humour.

Content warning: This programme contains references to suicide attempts, sex addiction, and drug abuse.

(Unavailable on Deaffest Online Cinema)

2:14pm: Salt&Pepper

Dir. Con Mehlum, Norway, 2024 (Dur. 75min)

On a winter evening in Oslo’s elegant Oscars gate, three couples reunite for dinner after years apart due to the pandemic. All in their forties, five of them share childhood bonds. What begins as light conversation soon reveals deeper changes: life choices have reshaped their relationships, and the sense of unity they once had is fading. As the evening unfolds, buried secrets and past traumas surface, sparking tension and conflict. The atmosphere grows increasingly charged, culminating in a shocking climax no one could have foreseen when the night began.

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

3:40pm: Ghost Sandwich

Dir. Lymon Thorn, USA, 2024 (Dur. 4min)

A deaf woman struggles to order a sandwich.

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

3:44pm: Sense

Dir. Adrean Mangiardi & Mark Levin, USA, 2025 (Dur. 5min)

Mark Levin’s poem “Sense” explores the idea that our perceptions and sensory experiences may not reflect reality as we believe. it questions the reliability of what we see, hear and feel, suggesting that our understanding of the world is shaped by illusions or misconceptions. through reflective and through-provoking language, Levin challenges viewers to reconsider how they interpret their surroundings and the truth behind their senses.

Content warning: This programme contains thought-provoking themes about perception and reality.

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

3:49pm: The Tales of Victor The Misfits Creator

Dir. Paul Miller, UK, 2025 (Dur. 14min)

In a dark forest beneath a crooked castle, Victor brings a misunderstood monster to life in a crackling laboratory experiment. When communication fails, the lonely creature escapes into the enchanted woods in search of connection. There, he meets Lily, sparking an unexpected friendship. Together they face danger, uncover secrets within the eerie castle, and stand against Victor’s sinister plans. This is a magical story of friendship, resilience, and how love can overcome fear and adversity.

(Available on Deaffest Online Cinema)

4:03pm: a love letter to the light

Dir. MJ Kiego, USA, 2024 (Dur. 9min)

A filmmaker redefines the essence of cinema by questioning the role of sound, inviting audiences to rediscover the power of imagery and light in storytelling.

(Unavailable on Deaffest Online Cinema)