Seeing Voices

Down the road from Woodstock in the early 1970s, a revolution blossomed in a ramshackle summer camp for disabled teenagers, transforming their young lives and igniting a landmark movement.

Frida, a deaf girl, shows us La Casa del Sordo through her eyes and hands: a space where deafness ceases to be a barrier and becomes the identity of an entire community.

This film is a letter to my friend Vincent who died ten years ago. Vincent was Deaf. He introduced me to his language, his culture, his world. Through Vincent ‘s life, the film will examine the roots of the distress that plagues the Deaf, and also explore a rich and fascinating world, a people that struggles to preserve its Sign Language and Culture.

The power of fostering animals in need is undeniable. Hopalong Animal Rescue, based in Oakland, CA, demonstrates this every day. This short film chronicles Tina Quon and Gary Moore, a couple who have dedicated their life together to fostering dogs in need of forever homes. Their pit bull, Nulo, plays a pivotal role, teaching young puppies how to grow into well-behaved, loving adult dogs. Together, they have fostered over 60 dogs – and counting. This documentary shows the ways in which Tina, Gary, and Nulo – along with Hopalong's larger network of over 600 foster homes throughout the Bay Area – have touched so many lives in profound and deeply moving ways.

Did you sleep well? For how long? Have you had breakfast today? What did you have? Now ask a Deaf person that.

The 1968 version of Finger Poem. In it, VALIE EXPORT uses sign language in her performance, forming an alphabet with her fingers. This is a work that reflects her interest in semantic theories, her analysis of how language comes about and the images it uses, as well as the varying possibilities for articulation through body language or written or spoken language.

The profound story of Lucy Temerlin, a female chimpanzee raised as human from birth in a domestic environment, and Janis Carter, the woman who took on the seemingly impossible task of giving her a new life in the wild.

To My Father depicts Deaf actor Troy Kotsur's journey to winning an Oscar and his father's inspiring influence on him, despite a tragic accident.

Six deaf performers share struggles and dreams of a new Deaf generation. These poetic self-portraits in sign language show empowerment and confidence, and the vulnerabilities that come with being different.

Unseen footage from the British Deaf Association archives is used to tell the story of the Deaf community's fight for civil rights.

A spate of robberies in Southern California schools had an oddly specific target: tubas. In this work of creative nonfiction, d/Deaf first-time feature director Alison O’Daniel presents the impact of these crimes from an unexpected angle. The film unfolds mimicking a game of telephone, where sound’s feeble transmissibility is proven as the story bends and weaves to human interpretation and miscommunication. The result is a stunning contribution to cinematic language. O’Daniel has developed a syntax of deafness that offers a complex, overlaid, surprising new texture, which offers a dimensional experience of deafness and reorients the audience auditorily in an unfamiliar and exhilarating way.

Sven has a dream. Once in his life he wants to walk the Camino de Santiago - the Way of St. James. But that seems impossible, Sven has Usher syndrome, a disease which slowly, inexorably robs him of hearing and vision. Profoundly deaf and completely blind since 2010, he can only communicate using a special hearing aid in the spoken language.

George Veditz, one-time president of the National Association of the Deaf of the United States, outlines the right of deaf people to sign instead of speak. The film is presented in American Sign Language and has no sub- or intertitles.

“I love poetry because it makes me feel like my mind expands.” In Regard Silence, that's the very first sentence expressed—in sign language of course. Watching the poems signed by deaf people in this film has a similarly mind-expanding effect. That’s because sign language—the Mexican version in this case—is a very different means of communication than written or spoken language.

Spring is coming. Deaf-mute girl and boy feel the warmth of the sun on their faces, the air is flooded with light. The world of these young people lacks sound and their language is different, but they are happy about spring and each other.

Documentary following Deafinitely Theatre as they translate a classic Shakespeare play for a Deaf audience.

Documentary telling the extraordinary story of Koko, the only 'talking' gorilla in the world, and her lifelong relationship with Penny Patterson. Project Koko started as a PhD project to teach sign language to a baby gorilla, but as Koko began to communicate with Penny, an intense bond formed between them. Penny has now been with Koko for over 40 years and claims Koko can reveal fresh insights into the workings of an animal's mind. Koko's unique life with Penny has been filmed every step of the way. Over 2,000 hours of footage chart the most dramatic moments - Penny's battle to keep Koko from being taken back to the zoo in which she was born, Penny's clash with academic critics who doubted her claims and the image of Koko mourning the death of her kitten.

In American Sign Language (ASL) with subtitles available in English, Spanish and Canadian French. This powerful documentary uses real life experiences from Deaf people of varied social, racial, and educational boundaries showing how this form of oppression does lasting and harmful damage. Bonus materials include directors' comments from Ben Bahan and H-Dirksen Bauman and additional scences. Teachers: This film is a wonderful tool for beginning ASL students, as an introduction to a side of Deaf culture that cannot be found in any textbook.

A documentary that follows the story of Dario Pasquarella, deaf director and actor, and his company. Through his work, Dario seeks to bring together the deaf and hearing community, who are usually separated by a lack of communication. In his shows he uses both languages, LIS, sign language and spoken language, to tell stories in which the deaf and hearing can live in symbiosis.

A documentary that follows Dr. Penny Patterson's current scientific study of Koko, a gorilla who communicates through American Sign Language.