ASL-using, culturally Deaf people have been virtually
invisible in cinema. While a few Deaf actors have gotten some mainstream
exposure, most viewers’ stereotypical views are only re-enforced
by the films and television programs they see. The reason is that, unfortunately,
very little mainstream media is created by Deaf people or with a Deaf
audience in mind. Deaf filmmakers and actors, however, have work waiting
to be shown. The purpose of this festival is to highlight their work.
We want their work to be more accessible to audiences and for Deaf people
to be able to see films with characters and stories that they can relate
to.
The screening committee watched hundreds of hours of
film in an effort to find a diverse collection of feature length and short
films to show. We wish we could show more, but because of space and time
limitations, have selected three feature films and a program of marvelous
short films from Europe for the festival. We have also included two presentations
about deafness and cinema by scholars Jane Norman and John Schuchman as
well as an opening night reception.
Curated by Nancy Cayton, Kathy Geritz, Ella Mae Lenz, Steve Seid, and the Screening Committee. TOP
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5:00 pm Friday, February 21. Tickets for reception cost $10.
Start the weekend off right! Join us for a reception to kick off the festival. Beginning at 5 pm on Friday night, we will host a reception at the Durant Gallery of the Berkeley Art Musuem/Pacific Film Archive building. Many of the speakers and filmmakers will be present! Enjoy great conversation, delicious food and hob nob. Vista’s own Betty Ann Prinz, a fabulous cook, will be catering the reception. It will be a lovely evening with plenty to eat and drink. The reception winds up just before 7 pm, in time for the first film. Durant Gallery located at 2621 Durant Avenue, Berkeley (one block from the PFA Theater). TOP
Theorizing a Deaf Cinema, a Lecture by Jane Norman
3:00 pm Saturday, February 22
There are films about deafness and there is Deaf Cinema. The two are not
the same. Mainstream cinema uses deaf characters as novelties that are
neither accurate nor flattering portrayals of Deaf people. Deaf Cinema
is something completely different. Jane Norman, Professor of Communication
Studies at Gallaudet University and Coordinator of the recent Deaf Way
II film programs, will explore Deaf Cinema, a movement in its early stages,
now gaining a body of filmmakers. To consider this movement, Norman will
look to precedents that have arisen from other minority communities, such
as African-American, Latin-American, and Disability Cinemas. Some questions
that will be tackled are: Are there aesthetic issues specific to Deaf
Cinema? Does Deaf Cinema require certain content? Who, if anyone, should
define this burgeoning movement?
Jane Norman is the former chair of the Television, Photography and Digital Media Department of Gallaudet University. She is known for her pioneering work with NEWSIGN 4 on KRON and recently served as the Deaf Culture and Media Consultant for the PAX television series Sue Thomas, F.B. Eye.
Please note: In ASL with simultaneous spoken translation
through wireless headphones.
TOP
Hollywood Speaks, An Illustrated Lecture by John S. Schuchman
3:00 pm Sunday, February 23
Many
hearing people have never met a deaf person. Even for those who have,
they are still far from understanding Deaf Culture. Given that, it is
not surprising that hearing people look to the media to provide insights
into what it means to be deaf. Though the first filmed depiction of a
deaf person goes back to 1902, followed by hundreds of subsequent instances,
the media has done little to transmit more than stereotypical views of
deafness. From Martyrs of the Alamo (1915) with Silent Smith to
Cop Land (1997) with deaf Sheriff Freddy Heflin, allowing for a
stop-off at Children of a Lesser God (1986), the cavalcade of clichés
has been persistent. There is the dummy, the perfect speaker, the expert
lip-reader, the fake, and the unhappy hearing impaired. John Schuchman
will look at this history, including works made for television, challenging
the stereotypes in a context that aligns the Deaf community with other
marginalized groups.
John S. Schuchman is the author of the book Hollywood
Speaks: Deafness and the Film Entertainment Industry (University of
Illinois Press, 1988). He is a retired professor from the History Department
of Gallaudet University and recently edited the book Deaf People in
Hitler’s Europe with Donna F. Ryan.
Concurrent Events at Berkeley Art Museum
During the festival, the museum will present two distinct
sign-language interpreted tours.
James Castle in Context
1:30 pm Saturday, February 22
Galleries 5 & 6
James Castle (1900-1977) was an extraordinary self-trained
artist who developed a highly sophisticated and personal language of drawing.
Deaf from birth, he never learned to speak, read, write, or use sign language.
However, throughout his life he drew and made constructed books and objects
working largely with found papers and inks of his own invention. Highlighting
several hand-sewn books by Castle recently donated to BAM/PFA, Lucinda
Barnes, Senior Curator for Collections will explore Castle's remarkable
art practice in the context of several noted contemporary artists in the
BAM collections. Interpreted by Patricia Lessard. TOP
Fred Wilson Exhibitions
1:30 p.m Sunday, February 23.
Galleries 2 & 3
An interpretive tour of Wilson's career retrospective, Fred Wilson: Objects and Installations 1979-2000 and Aftermath, his newly created exhibition delving into the collections of the Berkeley Art Museum and Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Interpreted by Kendra Keller.
Click here for more information about the tours and the Berkeley Art Museum. TOP
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Films are in sign language with spoken parts subtitled. Many films in the festival are in foreign sign languages, which are also subtitled. I Love You, But… is in American Sign Language (ASL), thus, only the spoken parts are subtitled. A written synopsis will be available for non-signers. The lectures and discussions will be conducted in ASL and interpreted into spoken English, accessible through wireless headphones. The headphones will be available at the Pacific Film Archive Box Office. We thank the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf for generously loaning us this specialized equipment. Assistive listening devices are also available at the box office for films with audio portions. For additional information, please see the Accessibility section below. TOP
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All programs and events will be conducted in American
Sign Language. For more information about language accessibility, please
see Communication section above.
Assistive listening devices and headphones to listen
to interpreting will be available at the PFA box office free of charge.
The PFA Theater, the Durant Gallery and the Berkeley Art Museum (BAM) are wheelchair accessible. A wheelchair is available for use in the museum free of charge (to reserve, call (510) 642-2403). On-street disabled parking zones are located in front of Bancroft and Durant entrances to the BAM/PFA building. Additionally, disabled patrons may park for free in any unmarked space in any UC lot after 5 pm and on weekends by displaying a California disabled parking placard. Disabled access to the theater is from the Bancroft parking structure. For more details and a map click here or call (510) 642-0808 voice. TOP
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Vista Community College is a national leader in American
Sign Language education, curriculum development and instruction. Colleges
and universities throughout North America, England, Japan, Italy and other
parts of the world use or have adapted our model curriculum, Signing
Naturally, to teach sign language.
We offer ASL courses which lead to an Associate degree
or a Certificate of Completion. They cover beginning, intermediate and
advanced levels of ASL, Deaf history and culture, ASL structure and fingerspelling
and classifier skills to prepare students to use ASL on the job or in
their personal lives. People from all walks of life register for our ASL
classes.
Vista Community College is part of the Peralta Community College District and is located in downtown Berkeley, California. For more information go to http://www.peralta.cc.ca.us/vista/asl/asl.html or contact our office at (510) 981-2865 TTY or (510) 981-2872 voice. TOP
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About the Pacific Film Archive
What is the Pacific Film Archive? The Berkeley Art Museum (formerly the University Art Museum) and the Pacific Film Archive are sister organizations under the umbrella of the University of California at Berkeley. PFA’s programming has been described as “a year-round film festival that, on any given day, may offer rare and beautiful prints of classic movies, works by the world’s greatest directors, Third World cinema, film noir, silent films with live music, or exciting experiments by today’s independent film and video artists.” The PFA collection has over 7,000 titles, including features and short films from around the world, the largest collection of Japanese cinema outside of Japan, important groupings of Soviet silent and Eastern European films, international animation and American experimental cinema and video art. Researchers from around the world recognize the PFA Library and Study Center as one of the most important film information resources in the United States. Their 234-seat theater provides perfect sightlines, comfortable chairs and state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment. TOP
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For Vista College contact Nancy Cayton at (510) 981-2865 TTY, (510) 981-2872 voice, or e-mail ncayton@peralta.cc.ca.us. For PFA contact the box office (510) 642-8734 TTY or (510) 643-1412 voice. TOP
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Thanks to our sponsors: Dawn Sign Press, DCARA, Deaf Visual and Performing Artists (DVPA), Chris Saba and Everett Graphics, and Darol F. Nance.
Thanks to the screening committee: Nancy Cayton, Kathy Geritz, Helen Haug, Ivanetta Ikeda, Ella Mae Lentz, Philip Rubin and Steve Seid, with the assistance of Karen Carruthers, Paul Dudis, Ramona Galindez, Yoon Lee, Ken Mikos, Derek Nunn and George “Butch” Zein.
Thanks also to Janice Plotkin of the San
Francisco Jewish Film Festival and Lucy Franklin from the British
Deaf Association in London for their advice and support; the Registry
of Interpreters for the Deaf for generously loaning their wireless headphones
and related equipment; to graphic artist Carla
Cruttenden for designing and constructing this web site and Naomi
Baer for producing this web site.
