Through Deaf Eyes on PBS

From Florentine Films:

Through Deaf Eyes is a two-hour PBS documentary that explores almost 200 years of American history: the experience of the Deaf community in the United States from 1814 to the present. The program aligns the broad sweep of U.S. history with the experiences of deaf people, showing how major social, economic, medical, and techno­lo­gi­cal shifts in America have changed deaf lives. It is propelled by the stories of people, both eminent and ordinary, and conveys a broad range of perspectives on what it means to be deaf.

In recent years, many have come to see the Deaf community as an ethnic group – a tiny minority in a hearing world. Like many minorities, it has had little voice; its history is under-represented in literature, and outside portrayals have presented a misleading picture. But being deaf is far from being the uniform (and tragic) experience that most hearing people imagine.

For many, the lack of hearing is not the essence of deafness at all: what is central is being a part of a culture. The film tells the surprising story of a people who were misunder­stood and repressed -- but joined together, grew in strength, and won great victories at last. The film is not so much a celebration, but rather an exploration of a history that includes culture, language, technology, politics and some very loud rock and roll.

The film was produced and directed by Lawrence Hott and edited by Diane Garey, of Florentine Films/ Hott Productions, Inc. Six filmmakers, all deaf, produced short films that are incorporated into the production: Wayne Betts, Rene Visco, Tracey Salaway, Kimby Caplan, Arthur Luhn, and Adrean Mangiardi.

The film is a production of WETA Washington, D.C., and Florentine Films/Hott Productions in association with Gallaudet University. It was written by Ken Chowder, with cinematography by Allen Moore, Michael Chin, Stephen McCarthy and John Baynard, and music by Judy Hyman and Jeff Claus.

The film was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS, The Annenberg Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and Sign Language Associates. It will premiere on PBS on March 21, 2007 at 9:00 PM. Check local listings.