WORLDEAF Cinema Festival announces award nominees

The Nominations Are In for WORLDEAF Cinema Festival

The nominations are in for WORLDEAF Cinema Festival’s (WDCF) filmmaker award competition taking place November 4 through 7 on the Gallaudet campus. Out of 173 submissions from 132 filmmakers from 30 countries, the 11-member judging committee has selected 17 films from seven countries. The finalists will be shown in a series of screenings open to the public. A complete list of the nominated films is below.

Films were submitted in five professional categories, including Best Narrative, Best Documentary, Best Short, Best Mini-15, and Best Film about the Deaf Experience by a Hearing Filmmaker. The selection reflects the wide variety of subject matter and storylines created by deaf and hard of hearing filmmakers, as well as hearing filmmakers. From works just nine minutes long to full-length narratives, the nominated films depict fiction and non-fiction stories, not just about deaf culture and topics, but the overall human experience.

The chosen films will be shown during the conference’s daily film screenings that are open to the public (ticket information below). Winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony on November 6.

“The films chosen are true examples of what deaf cinema has to offer,” said Dr. Jane Norman, WDCF chair. “We wanted to bring the deaf experience to a mainstream audience while also showcasing the level of talent of these filmmakers. Their stories tell and show how powerful deaf cinema is, and we hope that people come and enjoy these extraordinary films.”
Tickets for the daily screenings are now on sale online on the WDCF website and at the Gallaudet University Box Office, located at Elstad Auditorium.
Nominated films follow.
Category: Best Narrative

Film Name	Description	Length	Country	Filmmaker/s
Exhibit Year of 1827	A Czech tourist, Frank, on a seemingly innocent holiday, inadvertently catches mafia individuals in action through his video camera.	87:20:00	Czech Republic	Producer: AWI Films Director: Kamil Pansky
Music is Not Everything	A guy has a dream of being a musician, but he suddenly becomes deaf and faces an unscrupulous cochlear implant doctor	84:35:00	Sweden	Producer: Bull Heart Films Director/Writer: Gergin Simeonov
Gerald	Corey, a young man, yearns for kinship he never had. One day he discovers he has a deaf autistic grandfather. A twist of events leads to shocking truths.	101:23:00	USA	Producer/Director: Mark Wood

Category: Best Documentary

Film Name	Description	Length	Country	Filmmaker/s
I’m Deaf and I Didn’t Know it	This is a story of a deaf woman’s journey toward discovering her identity.	70:02:00	France	Producer: PDJ Production Director: Igor Ochronowicz Writer: Sandrine Herman
Anna’s Silent Struggle	A young deaf filmmaker, Tom, searches for answers to what happened to deaf Jews during the war, and he chances upon the story of Anna, one of the few deaf people who survived Auschwitz.	55:58:00	Amsterdam	Producer: AVA Productions Directors: Tom Linszen and Willy Lindwer
American De’VIA Artist: Chuck Baird and His Journey	Deaf artist Chuck Baird reflects on social changes in the deaf world. Baird struggled with his deaf identity and eventually became one of the founding members of the De’VIA art movement.	47:07:00	USA	Director: Tracey D. Salaway

Category: Best Short

Film Name	Description	Length	Country	Filmmaker/s
Catch Santa	A comedy about two hearing burglars who rob homes of deaf families on Christmas Eve.	27:30:00	USA	Director: Kamau Buchanan
Deaf in Pink: 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk in San Diego	The story follows seven deaf women as they stride, laugh, cry, and triumph during their three-day Susan G. Komen Walk.	23:38:00	USA	Producer/Director: Laura Harvey
The Ants and the Grasshopper	The traditional dream for people is just to work hard for a company until they retire and then to enjoy their hobbies. Shingo, the main character, shows both sides of the ants and the grasshopper, when he is suddenly fired.	39:29:00	Japan	Producer: Deaf Movie Entertainment Prodia Director: Nobuhiro Ohdate
The Fingerspellers	A comedy about a family of deaf gangsters who protect themselves through the power of sign language.	26:57:00	England	Directors: William Marger and Charles Swinbourne

Category: Best Mini-15

Film Name	Description	Length	Country	Filmmaker/s
The Deaf Man	The film addresses the destiny of deaf people in an age of technological improvements such as the cochlear implant. A man is held against his wishes by an unseen narrator who questions the man’s choices as a deaf individual.	9:04:00	USA	Producer: Jules Dameron Writer/Director: David Kurs
Hands Solo	A story about “The Porn Star With the Midas Touch.” What if a deaf man became an internationally famous porn star? Hands Solo is a comedic mockumentary about a deaf man who does just that–all because he is very, very good with his hands.	14:54:00	England	Producers: Colin Pons and Scott James Bassett Director: William Mager Writer: Charlie Swinbourn
Tara‘s Story	A film about Gallaudet’s 2006 protest through the eyes of one of the student leaders, Tara. The protests ignite a new direction fueled by a common belief among students.	13:10:00	USA	Producer/Director/Writer: Melissa Malzkuhn

Category: Best Film about the Deaf Experience by a Hearing Filmmaker

<td”> “See What I’m Saying” </td”>

Film Name	Description	Length	Country	Filmmaker/s
Signs of the Time	Where did the signs of baseball come from? In explaining this simple question, Signs of the Time unveils stories of inspiration that transcend sports. The film introduces two men at the center of this controversy and investigates our need to overcome barriers of communication with those around us.	59:46:00	USA	Producer/Director: Don Casper
Universal Signs	After the death of his fiancée’s daughter while in his care, Andrew (Anthony Natale) is tormented by memories and self-blame. Through new love, Andrew is able to sense the life around him.	100:58:00	USA	Producer: Catherine Miller
A film following four well-known deaf entertainers in the deaf community: a comic, a drummer, an actor, and a singer in their attempts to cross over to mainstream audiences.	93:51:00	USA	Producer/Director: Hilari Scarl
Ingelore	Through Ingelore’s eyes, we see how the Nazis take her father and then release him from Dachau. Ingelore, a deaf woman, talks about how she was raped by Nazi cadets on the street of Berlin. Her story demonstrates the power of light over darkness.	40:05:00	USA	Producer/Director/Writer: Frank Stiefel