Deaf Movies Make Their Debut at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Festival for Cinema of the Deaf will make its Massachusetts debut on Sunday, Oct. 19 at Holy Cross. The Festival, which has toured internationally, will feature a collection of first-rate short films by deaf filmmakers. Each showing will include video screenings and discussions with filmmakers.

The first showing ("A Family Affair"- children friendly) will take place at 12:00 noon in Stein Hall 116 and the second ("Around the World" - some discretion advised) at 6:00 p.m. in Stein Hall 132. Admission is $12 at the door for each five hour program.

"This is an important event because it shows the world that deaf artists are extremely talented," said Festival co-chair Sheryl Spera, "as well as giving everyone in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community the chance to enjoy a night out at the movies like everyone else."

With over 25 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans unable to understand first-run films in the theater, there has been a growing demand for captioned or subtitled films. The Festival for Cinema of the Deaf, founded by the Chicago Institute for the Moving Image (CIMI), brings films and filmmakers to cities around the world, championing the cause of captioning and accessibility.

"There has been a silent revolution taking place and we want to be in the heart of it" said Tannebaum, referring to the more than a dozen deaf film festivals that have been "inspired" by Chicago's Festival for Cinema of the Deaf, "We are thrilled to welcome everyone, deaf or hearing, to our festival."

The shorts playing during the Festival are a mix of dramas, comedies, children's films, documentaries, and more, and are all made by and/or starring deaf artists from the USA, Japan, England, Canada, Germany and New Zealand, to name only a few. All films are captioned or subtitled in English and many contain American Sign and other signed languages.

This event is co-sponsored by Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf (MSAD), the Chicago Institute for the Moving Image (CIMI), Show of Hands Theater Company of Massachusetts, and VSA Arts of Massachusetts.

Additional screenings will take place at Northeastern University on Saturday, Nov. 1.