Miss-Delectable
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Deaf on the Big Screen
Traditional moviemaking conventions are thrown to the wayside at the 5th annual Deaf Film Festival in Portland, where films from deaf directors attempt to portray people as being more than deaf and different.
The two-day film festival kicks off Friday night at the University of Southern Maine with "Forget Me Not," a thriller about a deaf family that is visited by a stranger after it wins the lottery.
Two films showing Saturday examine the issue of domestic abuse and deaf women. A short film from Japan depicts the experience of deaf people during the battle between Japan and America during World War II.
"I'm really wanting people to come and see the movies and really appreciate the different parts of the deaf community," said Brenda Schertz, the festival coordinator. "Some of the deaf movies have a lot of artistic expression. Some are very funny. Some are historical."
USM's American Sign Language Club and Linguistics Department is sponsoring the festival, which features nearly 30 films from across the world.
Earlier years featured more films from Europe, where government agencies heavily bankroll deaf films, Schertz said.
But the balance has shifted in recent years, as American filmmakers get more savvy about getting grants. Also, technology has made moviemaking simpler and more accessible, said Guillaume Chastel, an American Sign Language instructor at USM who helps coordinate the film festival.
"I think we're seeing deaf people say, 'We can make movies of our own' and not feeling so isolated and being more involved with contemporary society," Chastel said. "It's very empowering."
One of the most anticipated American films is "A Journey of Gallaudet Protest and Rally," which chronicles the tumult following the choice of then-provost Jane K. Fernandes as president of the country's premier school for the deaf in Washington D.C.
Fernandes, a deaf person who grew up among hearing children and did not learn American Sign Language until her 20s, was criticized for a poor leadership style. More than 2,000 protestors marched on the U.S. Capitol, forcing her ouster.
There are also a couple of films made with students from the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in Falmouth, the first-ever submissions from the school.
"Alice" is about Baxter elementary school students learning about the story of Laurent Clerc, who is widely regarded as the founding father of American Sign Language.
Actors from Baxter populate "Rose's Rascals!" a 50-minute film about a landlady who rents out space to a group of friends.
Eight students, ages 13 to 20, worked with Baxter middle school teacher Robert Gillies on the film last year. No sign language or speaking is in the movie which resembles a Charlie Chaplin vehicle.
"You really didn't need to know any language at all to follow the narrative," Gillies said. "Really anyone can watch it and they can get equal pleasure from it."
Gillies said he expects student-made films to become an annual tradition at Baxter. They don't have the storyline for their next movie, Gillies said, but they do plan to show at the film festival again.
Traditional moviemaking conventions are thrown to the wayside at the 5th annual Deaf Film Festival in Portland, where films from deaf directors attempt to portray people as being more than deaf and different.
The two-day film festival kicks off Friday night at the University of Southern Maine with "Forget Me Not," a thriller about a deaf family that is visited by a stranger after it wins the lottery.
Two films showing Saturday examine the issue of domestic abuse and deaf women. A short film from Japan depicts the experience of deaf people during the battle between Japan and America during World War II.
"I'm really wanting people to come and see the movies and really appreciate the different parts of the deaf community," said Brenda Schertz, the festival coordinator. "Some of the deaf movies have a lot of artistic expression. Some are very funny. Some are historical."
USM's American Sign Language Club and Linguistics Department is sponsoring the festival, which features nearly 30 films from across the world.
Earlier years featured more films from Europe, where government agencies heavily bankroll deaf films, Schertz said.
But the balance has shifted in recent years, as American filmmakers get more savvy about getting grants. Also, technology has made moviemaking simpler and more accessible, said Guillaume Chastel, an American Sign Language instructor at USM who helps coordinate the film festival.
"I think we're seeing deaf people say, 'We can make movies of our own' and not feeling so isolated and being more involved with contemporary society," Chastel said. "It's very empowering."
One of the most anticipated American films is "A Journey of Gallaudet Protest and Rally," which chronicles the tumult following the choice of then-provost Jane K. Fernandes as president of the country's premier school for the deaf in Washington D.C.
Fernandes, a deaf person who grew up among hearing children and did not learn American Sign Language until her 20s, was criticized for a poor leadership style. More than 2,000 protestors marched on the U.S. Capitol, forcing her ouster.
There are also a couple of films made with students from the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in Falmouth, the first-ever submissions from the school.
"Alice" is about Baxter elementary school students learning about the story of Laurent Clerc, who is widely regarded as the founding father of American Sign Language.
Actors from Baxter populate "Rose's Rascals!" a 50-minute film about a landlady who rents out space to a group of friends.
Eight students, ages 13 to 20, worked with Baxter middle school teacher Robert Gillies on the film last year. No sign language or speaking is in the movie which resembles a Charlie Chaplin vehicle.
"You really didn't need to know any language at all to follow the narrative," Gillies said. "Really anyone can watch it and they can get equal pleasure from it."
Gillies said he expects student-made films to become an annual tradition at Baxter. They don't have the storyline for their next movie, Gillies said, but they do plan to show at the film festival again.