Deaffest

Ted Evans, the winner of the 2012 Ben Steiner Bursary, has been busy working on his Ben Steiner Bursary film project.

The film is in pre-production, with the script being finalised and the casting process about to begin. The shooting is scheduled to take place in the New Year. The film will be completed in time for its premiere screening at Deaffest 2013 on Friday 17 May.

Even at this early stage the film is promising to be a very exciting project! Ted offered us a sneak preview with this synopsis of the film:

The Deaffest team is pleased to announce that Zebra Access has successfully obtained charity status. Zebra Access is a non-profit company that was established by Zebra Uno. Zebra Access is dedicated to ensuring that all Deaf people enjoy equal participation and access without communication barriers. Zebra Access supports a variety of events, clubs and initiatives, including Deaffest.

Zebra Access has now taken on a central role in coordinating and funding Deaffest, with Zebra Uno continuing to be a primary partner.

The email addresses for the Deaffest coordinators have been updated to reflect this change; please use jackie@zebra-access.com to contact Jackie Law, and mija@zebra-access.com to contact Mija Gwyn. 

Alex Nowak

Deaffest is very pleased to announce that Alex Nowak, the young and talented Deaf British actor, has become the Ambassador for Young Deaffest. He will be sharing his experiences as a young actor and filmmaker with the Deaffest audience via a video-diary that he will be recording in the lead up to Deaffest 2013.

The goal of Young Deaffest is to encourage and enable young Deaf people to develop their skills in the media industry, including filmmaking and acting. Alex Nowak’s collaboration with Young Deaffest will provide young Deaf people with a role model of a successful and upcoming young Deaf actor. Alex’s video-diary will also offer everyone an invaluable insight into the life of a young Deaf actor, helping them to understand what is required to develop a career in acting.

Participants at Young Deaffest 2013 will have the opportunity to watch Alex’s video-diary and listen to Alex talk about his experiences. There will also be a range of workshops in the Young Deaffest program, allowing young Deaf people to develop their skills in filmmaking, acting and scriptwriting.

Alex Nowak is best known for his role as the despondent Luke in the award winning film The End, directed by Ted Evans. He has starred in a number of short and feature films, including Tarun Thind’s ‘English’, Samuel Dore’s ‘Deep Into The Woods’, Richard Standen and Tom Stanley’s ‘The Beach House’ and Christina Bucher’s ‘Knight Knight’

In 2010 he achieved a Distinction in BTEC Level 3 Performing Arts and trained at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) in London, specialising in BSL theatre and film.

Alex says…

I’m very pleased to be invited to become the ambassador of Young Deaffest. I look forward to sharing my journey and supporting young deaf people with their acting and filmmaking projects.

Their minds are bursting with ideas, and film making enables them to express these. As a young deaf actor myself, I admire anyone who desires to get into the acting industry, it’s challenging, however at the same time, very rewarding. 

Bring on Deaffest 2013!

Deaffest is very excited to have Alex Nowak represent Young Deaffest. Make sure you don’t miss out on all the fun events that will be happening at Young Deaffest next year!