Curation Corner: d/Deaf Awareness Week 2025
Curated by Amanda Upson, FWD-Doc Board Member
Welcome to FWD-Doc's Curation Corner, a new series of disability media recommendations, curated by disabled filmmakers!
This week is d/Deaf Awareness Week, board member and former FWD-Doc interim director Amanda Upson has curated must-know movies, shows and more that have meaningful, d/Deaf representation. Amanda is an attorney-turned-film producer who has worked on projects like MAGNUM OPUS, RENEGADES, and A LONG MARCH, alongside consulting in the industry and much more.
With the d/Deaf community having such a unique and distinct identity within the disability space, and a thriving culture with rich history, FWD-Doc hopes this list gives people a taste of all the beauty that comes with and from d/Deaf, DeafDisabled, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing folks. This is the first in a series of many that highlight the unique identities and communities within our larger membership and beyond.
RENEGADES — Kitty O'Neil: The Fastest Woman in the World (2021)
Episode Director: Day Al-Mohamed | Episode Producer: Amanda Upson
This pilot kicked off the RENEGADES series, made by disabled filmmakers (many are FWD-Doc members) showcasing the lives and cultural contributions of little-known historical figures with disabilities. Every episode has a version with ASL interpretation, captions, and audio description in a Youtube playlist.
Highlight: “Dr, Rezenet Moges-Riedel’s genius on camera and sharing about Deaf Gain.”
BEING MICHELLE (2022)
Director: Atin Mehra | Producer: Atin Mehra, Mae Thornton Mehra | Executive Producer: Delbert A. Whetter | Captions and Audio Description: Cheryl Green
This documentary follows the journey of Michelle, a deaf and disabled woman who survived incarceration under a system that refused to accommodate her needs. The Deaf and hearing film team — full of FWD-Doc members — took exceptional steps to ensure that the film's protagonist is centered throughout the story, telling her story from her perspective through her artwork, ASL, reenactments and fragments from a traumatized memory.
Highlights: “The protagonist’s perspective extends to the stylized captions.”
GRAND THEFT HAMLET (2024)
Co-Director: Pinny Grylls
From Deaf filmmaker Pinny Grylls and co-director Sam Crane, their SXSW award-winning feature documentary follows two out-of-work actors attempting a full production of Hamlet inside the ruthless and unpredictable world of Grand Theft Auto V — shot entirely within the game.
Highlights: “.Everything about this film delighted me, including the fact that I got to see it in the theater with a friend. The film screens with open captions.”
THIS CLOSE (2018)
Creators and Talent: Shoshannah Stern and Joshua Feldman
There’s much to love about this well-written, well-acted, deeply touching series about friendship, which nails nuances of the Deaf experience in a way that can only be achieved by authentic representation on screen and behind the camera. In the show based on a series of short films, best friends Kate and Michael find their friendship put to the test when the newly engaged Kate struggles to grow at work as a heartbroken Michael battles writer's block.
Highlights: “The Thanksgiving scene reverses the dynamics of ‘dinner table syndrome’ and includes an ASL poem.”
FLASH BEFORE THE BANG (TBA)
Director: Jevon Whetter | Producer: Delbert A. Whetter
Inspired by the true story of Oregon School for the Deaf students, all-Deaf high school track and field team in Oregon. The film is in post-production now. There’s not much press out on it yet, but the Portland Tribune recently covered the upcoming film and revisit the events that inspired it.
Highlights: “It’s helmed by an uber-talented Deaf team, and I’m eager to see it on the big screen!”
Image Description: A high-contrast, mixed-media photo, using an archival photo of men lined up at a track and field starting line. On the right, a hand holds out a starting gun. In the background, the a sun breaks through the clouds in a blue and yellow sky. Large, bold, yellow text says, "Flash Before the Bang."
Deaf Way Film Festival
Director of Programming: Andrea Passafiume
Gallaudet University is bringing back Deaf Way, four-day celebration spotlighting the creativity, power, and stories of Deaf filmmakers and professionals in the film industry in Washington DC. The Deaf mega-celebration has film screenings, engaging panels, art exhibitions, and networking events that center Deaf stories. It takes place this year from October 16–19, with most screenings at Elstad Auditorium. The festival will be open to the public, including those who do not know about deaf culture or use American Sign Language. (Note: Gallaudet defines the deaf community to include “Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and hard of hearing.”)
Highlights: “LOUD LOVE will be showing at the festival!”
Image Description: A stylized image of a building on a colorful background. The building is Gallaudet's chapel hall, tinted blue, in front of a blue globe. The building is encircled on bottom by a yellow and black reel followed by a film strip. Below, a pink and black projector with the Deaf Way logo of a pink hand.
Stay tuned for more editions of Curation Corner as we honor the many robust and diverse identities within the disability community.