Deaf Rochester Film Festival Lineup Announced
Deaf Rochester Film Festival - March 12, 2009
The Deaf Rochester Film Festival is set for March 26-29, 2009 at several theaters including the Robert F. Panara Theatre at RIT/NTID. Tickets and more information can be found at www.DeafRochesterFilmFestival.org. Poster by Matt Dans. See full-size photo
Voices from El-Sayed, an Israeli documentary showing how modern technology may threaten the cultural history of a large deaf population, and Signs of the Time, a locally-produced documentary that traces the origins of hand signals used by baseball umpires, are two featured films selected for the 2009 Deaf Rochester Film Festival which runs March 26-29, 2009.
Other festival highlights include workshops with filmmakers, panel discussions and a Junior Deaf Rochester Film Festival where films by deaf high school students will be shown.
Multiple locations will be used during the festival, including the George Eastman House, Little Theatre, Rochester School for the Deaf and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at RIT.
Dozens of short films, either created by Deaf artists or with deaf-related themes, will be shown throughout the festival. Most will feature captioning or subtitles, so an understanding of sign language is not essential for audience members. A very few will only be presented in sign language to offer viewers the experience of seeing the movie without sound or printed words on the screen.
Following the festival's theme, "Preserving the History of Deaf Culture," Signs of the Time, narrated by actor Richard Dreyfuss, examines the significant role that legendary deaf baseball player William "Dummy" Hoy may have played in the creation of hand signals used in baseball. The film was produced and directed by Don Casper, an Irondequoit filmmaker who previously worked at NTID.
New this year is the Junior Deaf Rochester Film Festival, established to help create a nurturing environment where deaf students in high school can showcase their works. In addition, there will be several workshops where Deaf filmmakers talk about their works and offer tips on writing, directing, producing and distributing independent films.
"Film making is relatively new among the arts. There has been drawing, dancing and writing over the centuries, but filmmaking has only been around for 100 years or so," says Festival Director Stacy Lawrence, of Pittsford. "During that time, deaf people have been deprived of opportunities to learn and make movies. But the truth is, deaf people have been actually making movies their whole lives, with their eyes and hands."
The previous two Deaf Film Festivals have been widely popular in Rochester, which is home to one of the largest deaf populations in the country. Hundreds of sign language interpreters also call the area home.
Signs of the Time features period recreations shot at Genesee Country Village and Museum, as well as interviews of several baseball legends. It will be the first time the finished film can be seen by the public when it is shown at NTID's Robert F. Panara Theatre on March 29. Panara, 88, of Chili, was the first deaf faculty member at NTID and remains an avid baseball fan and historian. He is featured in the film and may help lead a discussion about the film with Casper immediately after its viewing.
"Everyone will truly enjoy and learn from this film, not just baseball fans, but anyone who likes a story about history, mystery and human achievement," Casper says.
The featured film Friday night of the festival at The Little Theater is Voices From El-Sayed. The 2008 film shows life in the picturesque Negev desert, were a large number of children are born deaf. Through generations, a unique sign language has developed there. Recently, a father decided to have his young deaf son implanted with a cochlear implant, allowing him to hear sounds. The film shows the controversy between sound and silence, technology and tradition.
A post-film reception is planned at 9:30 p.m. at Rochester Contemporary Art Center, 137 East Ave.
Festival highlights include:
Thurs. March 26, 2009
7-9:30 p.m. Junior Deaf Rochester Film Festival: Short films by deaf high school students and shorts from New Zealand and South Africa.
Rochester School for the Deaf, 1545 St. Paul St.
Tickets: $5 for students/$7 for adults
Fri. March 27, 2009
10 a.m.-noon Writer's workshop: "Film and Deaf Writers: Crossing the Textual Divide" with Aaron Kelstone.
Writer's and Books, 740 University Ave.
Admission: $10
7:30-9 p.m. Feature Film: Voices From El-Sayed
Little Theatre, 240 East Ave, followed by Opening Night Reception at Rochester Contemporary Art Center, 137 East Ave.
Tickets: $15
Sat. March 28, 2009
9 a.m.-5 p.m. (Doors open at 8:15 a.m.) Film Culture Shorts I
Dryden Theatre & Curtis Theatre at George Eastman House, 900 East Ave.
Tickets: $15
6:30-9:30 p.m. College Night: Film Culture Shorts, films by college students
Robert F. Panara Theatre NTID at RIT
Tickets: FREE (reservations urged)
Sun. March 29, 2009
9 a.m.-5 p.m.Film Culture Shorts II and Signs of the Time
Robert F. Panara Theatre, NTID at RIT
Tickets: $11
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Children's program, CSD Student Development Center at NTID ($3/per child)
Deaf filmmakers are also expected to show and discuss their works throughout the festival, including the festival's Masters of Ceremony, Ted and Sam Supalla. The brothers are linguists who made home movies of their communication in sign language decades ago. Ted Supalla is associate professor of brain and cognitive science, linguistics and American Sign Language at the University of Rochester. Sam Supalla is associate professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Deaf filmmaker Braam Jordaan is traveling to Rochester from South Africa, to show three one-minute short films he has made. He also plans to talk with high school students at Rochester School for the Deaf during the Junior Deaf Rochester Film Festival and sign copies of his children's book, The Rubbish Monster, during the children's program Sunday at NTID.
Another noted deaf filmmaker, Ryan Commerson, will lead a discussion at the Dryden Theatre on Saturday. He created Media, Power & Ideology: Re-Presenting D-E-A-F for his master's thesis.
Tickets are available on-line, or at the door if tickets are available then. Shows have been sold out at previous Deaf Rochester Film Festivals.
Visit www.DeafRochesterFilmFestival.org for updates, schedule and ticket information.
RIT/NTID is a sponsor of the Deaf Rochester Film Festival. Other sponsors include: City of Rochester, RIT's School of Film and Animation, Rochester School for the Deaf, Community Interpreting Grant, Sorenson VRS, New York Relay Service, Grant Interpretek, Wegmans, Sprint, Hands On VRS, PEPNet, CSDVRS, University of Rochester Sign Language Program, University of Rochester, Sam's Club, American Sign Language and Interpreting Education at NTID, RIT Libraries and RIT's Educational Design Resources.