Filed under: News, Interviews, Profiles
Filmmakers, directors, actors, and writers came together for the first day of the first ever World Deaf Cinema Festival hosted by Gallaudet University. During a press conference, actors, actresses, and directors talked about the struggles of making films featuring deaf actors, understanding the nuances of tone and sound when working with hearing actors, and other challenges and successes in the filmmaking world.
Shoshannah Stern, an actress most notable for her role on the Showtime sitcom, "Weeds," has starred in roles on "Boston Public" and "ER." Another actor, Russell Howard, spoke about the challenges of educating agents that deaf actors don't necessarily need to audition only for deaf roles.
Kamau Buchanan, won for the Best Short Film category, for a film he directed entitled, "Catch Santa," a comedy about a deaf boy, played by a talented actor, Theo Conley, who tries to film Santa to prove that he exists to his friends. A second storyline involves two hearing robbers who have plotted a scheme to rob deaf people on Christmas. In the "I Love Lucy" tradition, nothing works out as planned on either side and it turns into a comedy of errors.
"'Catch Santa' was my thesis for my graduate program. I first intended to make a comedy, accessible to both hearing viewers and deaf viewers," Buchanan, the recent Rochester Institute of Technology graduate said. "I'm trying to show contradictions between the deaf world and hearing communities and how they manifest in funny ways and not funny ways so it was a good experience working with both deaf and hearing actors."
Buchanan spoke to AOL Black Voices about his entree into filmmaking.
Were there any challenges making the film?
One challenge is directing hearing people. I always wonder whether or not I'm doing a good enough job. I have had a lot of experience working with hearing actors so while I might be advised an actor is not a good actor by one of my teachers I may question why. It's all about audio and their sound or tone of the voice that's not making the character come across. It would be best if I had a hearing co-producer.
What was your inspiration for making films?
I thought it was impossible. I didn't think there were any opportunities for me to be in film. I hadn't met any deaf filmmakers and so my major was in Information Technologies and my undergrad degree is in Information Technologies. I finished that program and met many more deaf filmmakers. And I met one that inspired me greatly, a filmmaker named Wayne Betts. I saw his work and I loved it and I asked him how he was able to produce it, how he was able to raise funds in making it and he said, 'I'm said I'm not worried about that I'm pursuing my passion.' I was impressed by that. I always had the passion, but I didn't know it was possible to make films.
Where are you from?
I was born in Philly, moved to New Jersey, then moved to Rochester.
Your parents were supportive of a career that won't necessarily make money right away?
Yes, my parents were always supportive, they said no matter what your dreams are even if you want to be a janitor, whatever you want to do as long as you're happy, I'm happy. Of course they wanted me to be educated and they always valued education, but it didn't matter what field. When I told them I wanted to get into film I was a little concerned about what they would say. But they said it's your life why should we decide what's gonna make you happy.
As a kid were you into film at all?
The reason I went into film was because when I was a kid I didn't have captions and then later I got a TV with captions. When I was 8 or 9 captions became more prevalent. But I really hadn't seen any film or TV shows with deaf actors and it's like being a black person and not seeing yourself on screen. And then I met Wayne Betts and he encouraged me to follow my passion, follow my dreams. I remembered there weren't a lot of opportunities for deaf actors and there needs to be in the future for future generations to see because deaf children need to be able to see films that they can identify with and see themselves in film. That's something I missed out on, that's why I wanted to do this.
Were you born deaf?
No, I actually became deaf at about 8 months from spinal meningitis.
Have there been challenges as it relates to race in the industry?
My films have really focused on deaf issues more than black issues. Some of my films have included all white casts because in the deaf community it's very difficult to find trained, talented black deaf actors. My film, "Don't" does have a black actor in it. "Catch Santa" I wanted to have a black actor in it and I had a very difficult time finding a black deaf child. I could only find one child actor that I was able to work with and who had the experience and he was white. And for the robber, one of the robbers was black and one of the robbers was white and I'm not not thrilled with that, I always have that struggle.It's difficult finding trained, black deaf actors.
What excites you about film nowadays?
What's exciting about today's world we live in is that anybody can make a movie because the technology is becoming cheaper and cheaper and much more accessible than it used to be. So that means we're going to see more of a variety of filmmakers, we'll see more black films, more deaf films, more gay and lesbian films, we're going to see films about every topic imaginable. We don't have to wait for Hollywood to make a film. We don't need to look for the money we used to in the old days. That's very exciting because the technology is making all of this possible and its exploding. It's making it possible for everyone to make movies.