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2016 Film Festival

Deaf Jam

Deaf Jam (2011) has a run time of 70 minutes. This film screened at Cinema Touching Disability Saturday, November 5, 2016. Audio description by VSA Texas. ASL interpretation by SOULumination

Deaf Jam director Judy Lieff answers our questions about her film and work with the Deaf community. Read the interview!

Local ASL poet and performer Theron Parker MC'ed slam-style poetry following the film, featuring ASL, Deaf-Blind, and hearing poets!

Film poster for Deaf Jam. The words Deaf Jam a film by Judy Lieff a riveting documentary are superimposed over a photo of a woman with eyes closed, holding one finger to her ear as though plugging it. The photo is seen through a blue filter. Award laurels and production credits frame the poster at its top and bottom. Filmmaker Judy Lieff explores the beauty and power of American Sign Language (ASL) poetry in Deaf Jam, the story of deaf teen Aneta Brodski’s bold journey into the spoken word slam scene.

Passionate, fearless and expressive, Aneta works hard at her craft and in a remarkable twist of fate, meets and then collaborates with Tahani - a hearing Palestinian slam poet. Poetry, friendship, and respect transcend politics as the two young women create a hearing/deaf duet - generating a new form of slam poetry that speaks to both the hearing and the Deaf.

Utilizing high-energy music and animated graphic text, Deaf Jam illuminates ASL poetry’s extraordinary potency and power. Taking us inside a fascinating and vibrant world where self-expression and cultural identity are fiercely pursued, Deaf Jam may change the way we think about the non-hearing world forever.

A note about Deaf culture at Cinema Touching Disability: we acknowledge and respect that some members of the Deaf community do not necessarily consider themselves to fall under the umbrella term: Disabled. We wanted to include this film in our program because of recurring themes and challenges common to both communities - diversity, accessibility, and changing perspectives, all within the context of the arts.

View the trailer below.