Find out more about our shortlisted nominees for the Deaffest 2022 Film and TV Awards.
Here/Not Here | Dir. Bim Ajadi, UK
Deaf hip hop music drama exploring sign language, dance, football and visual vernacular.
Hope | Dir. David Ellington, UK
Hope is a care-free, fun-loving Deaf teenager. But a fatal cancer diagnosis is about to turn her life upside down.
Illustrating Sam Newton | Dir. Lily Drummond, Australia
When Charlie, an extroverted visual arts student from New York messages Sam, an introverted photographer from Adelaide, Australia, both of their worlds turn upside down. But Sam has a secret they don’t want to share online; they’re deaf. As Sam and Charlie get closer, they two discover that art really is our universal language.
Veneer | Dir. Louis Neethling, UK
Life seems to be passing middle-aged Mimi by until an incident at work shakes her out of her comfort zone and her life is irrevocably changed.
2AM | Dir. Samuel Ash, UK
Is everything real? Don’t stay up until 2am.
Louder Is Not Always Clearer | Dir. Toby Cameron, UK
For most a dinner party is a chance to unwind and relax but for Jonny, who is Deaf, it’s a constant struggle to keep up with his friends and their ever-changing conversations.
Disinterested and tired of misunderstandings, Jonny leaves a dinner party taking the viewer on an audio-visual, time-traveling adventure, offering up moments from his life where his deafness has landed him in sticky situations.
It is adapted from the critically acclaimed theatre production of the same name.
Silent World | Dir. Charlie Dennis, UK
Silent World is a creative exploration and amplification of the covid-19 pandemic as experienced from the eyes of Signkid a deaf rapper in London. It is a musical short film which creatively explores the ‘silent world’ that has intensified and deepened for D/deaf people in the course of the COVDI pandemic. It visualises the sense of isolation, fear and societal disconnection that the hearing world has been experiencing – the sort of isolation the D/deaf people experience every day.
What if? | Dir. Teresa Garratty, UK
After a bad break-up, Jess focuses on rebuilding her life and her self esteem. Dating someone new might help, but what if it all goes wrong? Only one way to find out.
Mister Michel | Dir. Julien Bourges, France
Taken from a true story and set in France, the film is the story of a temporary substitute nurse’s in-home experience with a retired patient and her discovery that he is the victim of a terrible misjustice.
Old Mother Tongue | Dir. Mark Trifunovic, Canada
A Deaf man grapples with his sense of identity in a hearing world and is taken on a fabulistic journey through time one of the most significant events in Deaf history: The Milan Conference on the Education of the Deaf 1880, When sign language was banned from use in education.
The Multi | Dir. Storm Smith & Mikail Chowdhury, USA
An isolated Black Deaf woman constructed a world of order to keep a childhood trauma buried deep, then an unexpected turn of events forces her to confront her demons of her past who threaten to destroy everything she built.
The Perfect Darling | Dir. Fabien Geret, France
Loane, a young girl, works as a home help for people with disabilities. She has a wonderful love affair with Alex and they connect very often. Will their relationship succeed in becoming a reality?
Deaf, Little & Loud | Dir. Rosie Benn, UK
Deaf children are still falling behind their hearing peers in school. ‘Deaf, Little and Loud’ is a See Hear special that dives headfirst into investigating the importance of access to sign language from a young age.
Radha Starr, who fronts the programme, explains that it’s the first time in See Hear’s history where cameras are rigged in a classroom with primary school age deaf children to see how well they will respond to a series of exercises designed to show the benefits of early access to sign language. The exercises are led by Alysha Allen, a renowned deaf teacher and observed by two guest experts; Dr Kate Rowley and Dr Patrick Rosenburg.
We learn the importance of facial expressions and communication between teachers and deaf students and we witness a full immersive education experience as Alysha leads a series of exercises- ranging from story-telling to building blocks.
In between the tasks, we go home with some of the participants to find out more about their background and their family life. Within the home footage provided by the families, we learn more about how early access to sign language has benefitted them as individuals.
The programme ends on the experts’ closing thoughts on the importance of access to sign at an early age, with the general consensus that when deaf children are given a fully immersive education experience, there’s no reason why deaf children shouldn’t be on par or even surpass their peers.
Four Deaf Yorkshiremen Go Dating | Dir. Louis Neethling, UK
Comedy series about the adventures of four grumpy old deaf men in a Yorkshire village. In this episode, three of the men go on dates. Tim is desperate to make a good impression when he goes out with Madeline, while Angus and Vikram have a dating competition – with Vikram as the judge. Can Tim depend on the men’s advice? Can Angus stop himself from taking the dating competition too seriously and stay on his daughter Dawn’s good side? And who will win the competition?
BBC See Hear on Tour | Dir. Camilla Arnold, UK
Nadeem Islam is back on our screens for See Hear on Tour: Staycation, but this time it’s a bit different with COVID-19. Nadeem shows us how to holiday, pandemic style! Cue hand sanitiser, masks and social distancing!
In this episode Nadeem travels to Jersey to meet Lynn Stewart-Taylor who gives him a tour of the island. With Lynn, Nadeem meets the Jersey cows that produce the rich, creamy milk that makes their ice cream world famous. He then learns how oysters are a sizeable source of income for Jersey. Lynn and Nadeem head out to Long Beach with an expert, Trudi Cox, to learn how to fish for oysters. They then get the opportunity to sample some fresh oysters but what does Nadeem make of them?
Nadeem learns more about the occupation of Jersey during World War Two and how even though the island was demilitarised, bunkers were erected by the Germans and the island became a fortress against the Allies.
The tour ends on St Brelade beach where Nadeem learns how to paddleboard under the wing of Scott, a Jersey native. How does he fare?
This is Deaf: LGBTQIA+ Life | Dir. Giles Bowman, UK
In this episode we discuss being Deaf and part of the LGBTQIA+ community. We talk to members of the community to find out how attitudes have changed over the decades.
Lost, Taken, Murdered | Dir. Vivien Sabel, UK
Lost, Taken, Murdered was written days after the horrific murder of George Floyd. The Director felt the words alone would not convey the depth of feeling experienced by people across many nations. As a CODA and former BSL Interpreter her instinct led her to employ the services of a Deaf Actress whom she has seen and met in a performance in early 2020.
The actress, Raffie Julien and Vivien worked closely on translation. They wept each and every time they worked together to produce this short film. This powerful and emotive film has been officially selected for 5 international film awards. It was a finalist (Second place) in Jump Cut Film Festival 2021.
Magic Hands Black History | Dir. Aimee Campbell-Nottage, UK
Music and black culture historically go hand in hand. The new series of Magic Hands covers the iconic songs that represent the incredibly varied range of music created by black artists, from Nina Simone’s ‘Young, Gifted and Black’ to Bob Marley’s ‘Three Birds’. Building on the hugely popular and successful ‘Magic Hands’ format, two of the presenters will open the programme in a location that bears some link to black history such as the Nelson Mandela statue in London. They will then deliver some context linked to the location – ranging from slavery, the fight for civil rights, history of activism and important figures, delivered openly but sensitively and age appropriate – before presenting and performing a song with the regular ‘Magic Hands’ animated characters Leapy, Click-Clack, Pixie, Pink Bird, Bobbles and Sheba.
Scotland, Forgive me | Dir. Will Clark, Scotland
This Fine Art Poetry film is about how a Deaf person struggles to find their own identity and connection to the country they were born in – using a raw poem and visuals to tell a story.
The Pumpkin King | Dir. Paul Miller, UK
Young twins, Anders (deaf) and Aurora (hearing) share a very special bond. They come from an old Scottish mythical village called Oban. One morning, happily playing in the park as they did most days, they found something out of the ordinary. That night the unimaginable happened and Anders is once again faced with a new mystery. Will the ancient artefact help him this time?
Getting Personal with Richard D France | Dir. Cathy Heffernan, UK
Getting personal is an interview programme in which presenter Deepa Shastri meets Richard D France, a poet, writer and a mental health campaigner.
Strange Signs | Dir. Kateryna Pavlyuk, UK
Strange Signs sees three Deaf women with migrant backgrounds relate, in their own words and signs, their stories of identity, access and ability in the UK. Weaving their diverse, intersectional experiences, the film offers three distinct accounts of what it means to be a Deaf migrant woman in hearing, British society.
Summer in Lockdown | Dir. Cathy Heffernan, UK
Ix members of the Deaf community recall the fear that gripped Britain during the Covid-19 crisis, and give us an insight into how the pandemic and lockdown affected their lives.
The Time is right for us | Dir. Stanko Pavlica, Switzerland
Markus Huser, the young, deaf man was an activist to the bone and one of the most important initiators of self- advocacy for the deaf in Switzerland, the advancement of which he played a decisive role in during the 1980s. His achievements include the provision of state funding for deaf organisations and enabling the deaf community to stand up for their needs with greater confidence. At the height of his achievements, Markus Huser became very badly ill too early. Despite this blow, he fought right up to the end for the self-determination of the deaf in Switzerland.
Julien Bourges | Mister Micheal, France
Mark Trifunovic | Old Mother Tongue, Canada
Natasha Ofili | The Multi, USA
Teresa Garratty | What if?, UK
Aimee Campbell-Nottage | Magic Hands Black History, UK
Camilla Arnold | BBC See Hear on Tour, UK
Cathy Heffernan | Summer in Lockdown, UK
Mark Trifunovic | Old Mother Tongue, Canada
Jonny Cotsen | Louder Is Not Always Clearer, UK
Kevin Walker aka Signkid | Silent World, UK
Nadeem Islam | Here/Not Here, UK
Ryan Pendley | Here/Not Here, UK
Natasha Ofili | The Multi, USA
Natasha ‘Raffie’ Julien | Lost, Taken, Murdered, UK
Ralitsa Rodriguez | Old Mother Tounge, Canada
Zoë McWhinney | The Perfect Darling, France
Ahmed Mudawi | Dismantling Racism, UK
Deepa Shastri | Getting Personal with Richard D France, UK
Donna Mullings | Dismantling Racism, UK
Nadeem Islam | BBC See Hear on Tour, UK
An exhibition by deaf artists and photographers will be on display this May in the Main Gallery at Light House Media Centre.
A talented illustrator and artist who focuses around the incorporation of the natural world within all illustrations created. The ability to evoke both the feeling of love and soulful beauty, through using unique designs and illustration and well chosen colour for both children and adults, to excite and inspire through the wonder on nature is present within illustrations.
Trained and confident with the use of variety of methods and materials to ensure that aim of the project is being met to a high standard. Both ink and watercolour and acrylic paint are used in most stages of illustrations and developed upon with the addition of other materials and techniques. Some of the areas which have been focused upon are greetings cards, bespoke children’s books, repeat pattern designs and gallery images.
View Amanda’s work on Facebook and the Deaf Market.
I am a Deaf Artist and have been an artist for many years. I like to my work to portray Manchester especially during Victorian times. I use an array of colours in my work because my paintings feature both historic and modern architecture, skyscrapers, canals, geese, bridges, pubs, as well as Manchester’s emblem for the city – the Manchester Bee.
Qualified craftsperson handweaver, Penny is returning to her art skills after 33 years of teaching. She studied nomadic & indigenous textiles, especially West African narrow-band weaving (Kente). She uses mixed media and does commissions. Penny is developing both textile-aimed and Deaf-related artworks.
One day in 2017, I was going through depression and I decided to pick up a paint brush for the first time, little did I know I’d become a painter and that painting became my therapy!
My paintings are full of vivid colours blending harmoniously, paintings of powerful women navigating their healing journey and my thoughts/feelings.
Please feel welcome to visit my Facebook art page and Instagram page to see more of my work!
I am a Deaf visual artist based in Southampton, Hampshire.
I specialise in abstract acrylic paintings, using vibrant bright colours. I enjoy the intuitive and freestyle methods of fluid art with acrylic pouring and splatter techniques.
I share and sell my artworks online as @VB Deaf Artist: Instagram, Facebook and the Deaf Market.
Exhibition: Weaving through the barriers
In a society where deafness can still be treated as a taboo, I like to use my experience to attempt to break down barriers to give credence to what is often perceived as a disability. I want my work to provide an opening into a different world: a culture not defined by disability but by its rich and varied language, traditions, and relationships; a community that enables a sense of identity. My work explores the membrane between the deaf and hearing worlds. The aim of my art is to create a wider audience who have crossed that membrane in some way and therefore to lessen the misunderstandings and barriers between the two worlds.
The social pressure of deafness has propelled me to express the challenges I face within a society that appears less adaptable even when ‘deaf aware’. My work seeks to encourage the audience to enter into and absorb an experience of a deaf person navigating in a hearing dominated world.
The exhibit I propose is to produce a piece of art using fabric and machinery to highlight the barriers that I face as a deaf person. This is meant to represent more than ‘the everyday barriers’ we have come to (but shouldn’t) expect!
For example I work in a specialist deaf school and am attending a course specifically to become a qualified Teacher of the Deaf. Both of these organisations, you would expect to have some level of understanding and empathy for deaf people. However, still find a multitude of barriers, specifically around accessing written English. Through my art work, I want to highlight the barriers and how manage to persevere and weave my way through them to continue to achieve my goals.
View Shauna’s work on Instagram.
Deaffest, the UK’s leading Deaf-led Film & Arts Festival, returns for its 14th festival this May with the theme Unlocked.
Get your tickets for Deaffest 2022!
See the list of nominations for the 8th Film & TV Awards.
We are looking for volunteers to support Deaffest 2022 from the 6th – 8th May 2022.
Stallholders are welcome to promote their charity/business or to sell products/creative work/food at Deaffest 2022.
Deaffest 