Director Joseph Josselyn Makes a Case For Deaf Filmmakers

Director Joseph Josselyn Makes a Case For Deaf Filmmakers

By Jospeh Josselyn, Contributing Writer

We opened the premiere with some comments and thank yous, and applause filled the room. My hearing friend who is new to Deaf culture, was there and was taken aback with how moved he was by the experience. For the first time in his life, he was not hearing the applause – he was surrounded by it without hearing a hand clap. When the film ended, he knew what to do – he raised his hands high, shaking them in the air! Again, the room was filled with visual applause. This moment, to him, encapsulated how different this film really is.

Unique, historic, unprecedented – these are all words that have been used to describe Jesus, a Deaf Missions film. But why? What makes this film unique? I could list several different aspects – the fact that all primary roles in the cast and crew are filled by Deaf professionals and that the communication in it is 100% in ASL (American Sign Language), the size of the production budget, the fact that it was fully funded by generous donors, the reality that it will be released in theaters beginning on June 20 – these are all unique things about this film, but I think the #1 thing that makes it unique is normal life to a Deaf person – that is the Deaf lens. Deaf filmmakers see things differently, and that means we make different creative choices in filmmaking. The term being used today is DeafCinema.

I grew up loving movies. I grew up with a camera in my hand, filming the world around me. And I knew that my vantage point as a Deaf individual was different. A film created from a Deaf lens always leaves space to see the signing – the language. Body language and expressions are an important part of portraying a character for a film in any language, but those body cues uniquely match Deaf culture when filmed from a Deaf lens. When you are watching a film with open captions, you may see the words bird chirping, but you may not see the bird and the Deaf person may wonder — is the bird large or small? What part is the bird playing in the story? Perhaps this is clear when you have access to the audio. When a movie is shot from a Deaf lens, if the bird is important, you will see the bird – you will know it’s part of the story. If you can’t see it, it’s not part of the experience for a Deaf individual.

It brings me such satisfaction when Deaf friends and colleagues who have pre-screened the film tell me they could immerse themselves into the film – they felt like they were part of it. That is exactly what I wanted for my community – a film with no barriers.

Not only are the camera angles and shot choices different – practically how we work on set is different. There are no radios to communicate across set — we pull out our phones and text. We don’t ever have to say, “quiet on the set” – the audio is irrelevant during the initial filming. How do you yell “Cut” on a Deaf set? Sure, you can sign it, but if everyone is doing their job, they are not facing the director signing that cue, so you get creative and throw a pillow onto the set – indicating the cameras should stop rolling. These are just a few examples of the differences you will find on a Deaf set.

We worked on-location utilizing a variety of sets and interacted with hearing professionals who had worked at those locations. We utilized hearing extras when needed, and we had a handful of crew members who were hearing. It was refreshing for the hearing people to enter our world instead of working in a hearing framework.

It has been my honor to work with so many talented people to make this possible. I am humbled to have directed the first all-ASL film to be released in theaters. I can’t think of a story I would rather tell than about the man who saved my soul and gifted me with the talents I have. As the hands wave in applause in June, we are proud of our accomplishment but we give all the glory to JESUS.

JESUS: a Deaf Missions film is in select theaters now. Learn more: jesusdeaffilm.com

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