Tag: deaf

Silence is not emptiness. “Viktor” (2024)

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directed by Olivier Sarbil
© 2024 Protozoa Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Since my last post was about the Deaf community, I’ve decided to continue this topic and recommend you one more film. This time, it’s a documentary that caught my attention during a festival and it was the first one I chose to see. Why? Because it tells the story of Viktor Korotovskyi, a Ukrainian man, presenting his everyday life during the Russian invasion of his country. I know that we’ve got many productions about the war happening there, but this one is quite unique because it’s told from the perspective of a deaf person. Viktor is a healthy and hard-working man, who wishes to support his nation and fight for Ukraine, just like other patriots there. However, no matter how much bravery and commitment he has to give, his lack of hearing becomes a significant problem. Perhaps in other jobs it’s manageable to co-work with such barrier, but not in the army. Hearing is extremely important on the battlefield, because each soldier has to be attentive and react as fast as possible, either it’s an order from the officer, an alarm or even a cry for help from another soldier. Even though it seems reasonable, during the documentary you may feel this hurtful injustice. Especially if you empathise with Viktor, who seems to be incredibly frustrated about the whole situation. And then you realise that there’s something worse than losing – it’s not being able to do anything. Despite your motivation and skills, you’re forced to sit and watch. And wait – either of victory or death. I’m aware that the story of Viktor is extreme, because it’s happening during an actual war, but this film should be a lesson to us all about the everyday life of people with different disabilities. We should understand that accessibility is horribly important, even if it’s for the minority. Once again, I totally understand the decision not to recruit a deaf person to be a soldier on the battlefield, because it’s dangerous and irresponsible. Still, adding subtitles to videos is not a big deal, and it already makes a difference. Building a ramp or putting a piece of information about the accessibility of the place? Also not so difficult, yet how helpful! Not rejecting people based on their disabilities but purely based on their actual skills? How simple! If I had to describe this documentary with one word, I’d say “helplessness”. And I believe it’s the most disgusting feeling you may experience. So let’s try not to make others feel this way, shall we? Also, except the story itself, this film is beautiful. I loved all the shots, the camera work, even the black and white pictures (even though I’m not such a fan of it nowadays). In fact, one of the producers is Darren Aronofsky and you can definitely see a pinch of his mind there. Sometimes, I even forgot I was watching a documentary, so if you’re not a fan of classic documentaries, this one should catch your attention. And of course – Slava Ukraini!

My rating: 7/10
S.

I want to be as deaf as I can be. “Deaf President Now!” (2025)

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directed by Nyle DiMarco & Davis Guggenheim
© 2025 Apple TV+. All Rights Reserved.

When I learned about this documentary, I immediately had to see it. I’m not a deaf person, but the rights of deaf people are very important to me. And no, I don’t have any deaf family members or coworkers, but I’m learning our national sign language. Why? First, because I simply like learning languages and it’s always an interesting adventure for me to learn new words, expressions and grammatical rules (yes, call me crazy, but I like those grammatical riddles). Second, it’s because I’ve met deaf people in my life in some random situations (on the street, in a hospital etc.) and I felt frustrated that I cannot communicate with them. Especially when a deaf woman is in hospital and there’s no translator so she has no idea what’s happening to her. That was actually my hospital roommate and after a week spent together, I went out of the hospital thinking “time to learn sign language”. Now, I can tell you that the world of deaf people is fascinating, because even though they don’t hear, they can be very emotional, creative and innovative, so everyday I gain a lot of inspiration from their community. That is why today I’d like to recommend you this documentary about a significant protest organised by the students of Gallaudet University in 1988. It’s the only university in the world that is specifically designed to educate deaf and hard-of-hearing people. However, since the beginning of its existence, the university president had always been a hearing person. In 1988 there was a chance for a deaf professor to take over such position, but certain authorities decided to keep a hearing person there. And at that point, the students got furious and began a huge protest in order to finally be represented by a deaf president. You may ask why it’s so important for them? Well, as a hearing person I do agree that only a deaf person may fully understand another deaf person. Additionally, in the previous boards those important people didn’t even know ASL (American Sign Languages), which shows their ignorance and lack of understanding what kind of university they are managing. Also, a deaf president gives the students a strong motivation boost, because in the world where people with disabilities are considered more of a problem (horrible reality), there’s a man like them who’s reached the top and it gives hope. No matter if you’re deaf or not, you have the right to dream big and live successfully. So yes, deaf representation is important everywhere. If you’re curious what happened during those protests and what the outcome was, you should see this documentary. And perhaps get inspired to learn your national sign language, even a few signs to communicate. I’m sure the deaf will be thankful for your effort.

My rating: 7/10
S.