WorldDeaf Cinema Festival and Marlee Matlin

Courtesy of Gallaudet University.

Gallaudet University is proud to host the WORLDEAF Cinema Festival (WDCF) November 4-7, 2010. The four-day conference and competition will bring together both filmmakers and film fans to celebrate and discover the cinematic art of deaf and hard of hearing people, as well as of hearing people who produce films with or about deaf and hard of hearing people. Not only will the event spotlight the global dimensions of deaf cinema, it will also highlight the diversity of the world’s deaf and hard of hearing communities.

Honorary Chair of WDCF, Marlee Matlin will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival. Terry Riley, Chief Executive of the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust, will receive WDCF’s International Media Award. Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., chairman and CEO of the Samuel Goldwyn Company will share his views as a film producer.

There will be some well-known Deaf names there including Jack Jason (Marlee Matlin's interpreter).

It sounds fun! I might attend! See you there!

DEAFNATION WORLD EXPO IN LAS VEGAS A SMASHING SUCCESS

The Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas was buzzing with activity and hands were flying everywhere you turned during the week of July 18-23, 2010. More than 23,400 unique visitors from 73 different countries came to Las Vegas for the DeafNation World Conference and Expo (DNWE). With special thanks to the Platinum sponsors, Sorenson Communications and Purple, DNWE was a smashing success.

DNWE welcomed signing crowds from every corner of the world, communicating in a blend of native sign languages and International Sign Language. The week saw over 300 booths ranging from fashion to sign language dictionaries to Video Relay Services to deaf films, and over 70 workshops including topics like the future of deaf telephony, environmentally-conscious living, and cultural exchanges.

The week-long celebration of Deaf culture kicked off on Sunday, July 18 at the Fremont Street Experience with a canopy video created by DeafNation. Live entertainment previews included the Finnish band Signmark and contestants in the Miss Deaf International pageant, which had its finale on Friday, July 22 crowning Miss Deaf France as the new Miss Deaf International.

During the week at Sands Center, special appearances were made by deaf Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, and deaf UFC fighter and the person the movie “Hamill” is based on, Matt Hamill. Thousands upon thousands lined up to buy books, T-shirts, pictures, and to have them signed by Marlee and Matt, before taking a picture with the stars.

The main stage was the center of all the activity. Three distinguished keynote speakers were invited to DNWE to present in front of thousands. The first speaker, Mark Wheatley, is the current Executive Director of the European Union of the Deaf, and he presented “The European Perspective of the Deaf Community in EU Member States.”

Donalda Ammons, an international sports leader and former president of Deaflympics, discussed “Deaf World Sports: The Power of Internet-based Media.” Bernard Bragg, an international deaf entertainer and the founder of the National Theatre of the Deaf, presented “We’re the World.”

Also on the main stage was the wedding of Robert McClay and Katrina Green, both Americans, who wished to hold their wedding ceremony on Wednesday, July 21. Deaf rapper Sean Forbes from D-PAN performed to cheering crowds, and Signmark gave a preview of what they would play on Monday and Tuesday nights at the Treasure Island pool party. For cinema-goers, DNWE had two surprises for them: screenings of films from two different deaf production companies, ASL Films from the United States, and Awi Film from the Czech Republic.

During the week, DeafNation received honors from two different organizations – the International Service Award from the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, and an award in honor of DeafNation’s 10-year-long partnership with Deaflympics, Inc. as its media partner. Many other countries honored DeafNation with various paintings, fabrics, and trinkets that are culturally priceless.

The World Deaf Art Gallery had over 20 pieces from international deaf artists, including the famous Chuck Baird, and a series of beautiful batiks created by deaf students from Ghana. Mannequins were donned with pieces by deaf fashion designers. Next to the art gallery was one of the main attractions at Sands that drew crowds – the Deaf Wax Museum.

Deaf wax sculptor Don Baer is well known for his series of historical deaf figures, and it was a honor for DeafNation to have his latest piece unveiled at DNWE – a sculpture of Bernard Bragg in his heydays, as a mime. Bragg was extremely touched, and the first words he said were, “That’s me!” amid flashes from the crowd.

DNWE had something for everyone. For those who were itching for some sports action, a corner of Sands Expo Center was reserved for the World Deaf Darts Tournament. Teams and singles participated in the tournament, with Curtis Cote coming out on top in the 301 singles, and Curtis Cote and Mike Cope winning the 501 double slot. Sean Byrum and Gary Burke won the cricket double, while Mike Cope, Curtis Cote and Jason Hurt sweeped the team-of-3 slot.

DeafNation partnered with Deaf Sports Academy to provide flag football and basketball games for children and teenagers, and the Las Vegas Charter School of the Deaf had childcare activities that included the popular moon bounce.

After the week at Sands Expo Center and DNWE wrapped up, DeafNation hosted a World Deaf Golf Classic at three different courses over three days, for $15,000 total prizes. After playing at the Arroyo Golf Club, the Siena Golf Club, and the Red Rock Golf Club, John Ramirez III came out as the winner of the 2010 DeafNation Golf Classic.

The success of DNWE would not have been made possible without the hard work of our committee, volunteers, and the sponsorship of our Platinum-level sponsors: Sorenson Communications and Purple. Special thanks also go to our Bronze-level sponsors: Deaf Missions, Sprint Relay, The Z, Gracias VRS, ASL Pre-Paid Legal, and ASL Dream Team.

DeafNation’s philosophy is that free admission brings a diversity of attendees who can share our culture, needs, language, and information. Overall, our goal is to give everyone the chance to meet new people from all the corners of the world, ranging anywhere from historical regions like Europe, the Americas and Africa to exotic regions like Asia and Australia, and learn new languages, new cultures and new traditions, which was all done under one great roof!

VIDEOS AND PHOTOS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER ON WWW.DEAFNATION.COM
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Do we want another DeafNation World Expo? If yes, then when and where??? Any suggestions?

(courtesy of DeafNation through email subscription)

American Disability Act (ADA): How far have we really come?

Today marks the 20th anniversary of American Disability Act (ADA). I congratulate everyone for all their hard work. It's truly an accomplishment.

However, I do wonder how far have we really come? Have we made a lot of progress or is it still all talks?

How many times have we heard or see this?

"Your disability isn't significant enough." 

"A number of Supreme Court cases (have) greatly weakened the law. Many cases have focused on the degree of an individual's disability, rather than whether discrimination took place." Often times people are being told, 'your disability isn't significant enough,' even though they need accommodations to work." "We have many, many strides to make. It hasn't solved everything for us, not by a long shot. But it certainly has made a dent in equal access." (Link 1)

"Since the ADA was passed, studies have shown that the unemployment rate remains very high for people with disabilities compared with people without disabilities, according to Disability Rights Director John Herrion of the state Division of Human Rights." " (Link 2)

"The biggest challenges that the state continues to face are old attitudes and stigma" (Link 3)

Lastly, many people are saying that ADA itself is simply outdated. The definition for "reasonable accommodations" are no longer acceptable. We have newer technology that have a much significant impact upon people with disabilities. Yet, they are rejected because they weren't simply stated or included in the ADA 20 years ago. (I.E. TTY over Videophone for the majority of Deaf population). 

What do you think? 
 

Sign Language in Space!!!!!

That's right! We have an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and she is sending us a video message in sign language! Pretty nifty huh!?

"Ultimately, this isn't really about me learning or knowing ASL," stated Caldwell Dyson. "This story should be an avenue for deaf students -- from children in kindergarten to college undergraduates to doctoral candidates -- to see themselves belonging to this amazing thing called NASA and participating in scientific research and space exploration."

What's next now??? How about Mars??? (smile)

Music for Deaf people, is this possible???

Well, this is quite interesting. German designer Frederik Podzuweit invented a device that  "promises to make hearing music a reality for the deaf community based on synesthesia — a type of sensory stimulus evokes the perception of an entirely different sense." In other words, it will allow the Deaf community to experience the same emotions as Hearing people do when listening to music. You simply place the device around your neck like a scarf and the device will do the rest.

 Music for Deaf people

Music for Deaf people

This really does lead to many questions. For example, are Deaf people really capable of understanding and feeling the true meaning of music? Or is it like trying to teach a fish how to walk? (ergo: it's impossible?)

Another question to consider is how can we prove that Deaf people will experience the same sensations as a Hearing person might while listening to music? Or is it synthetic like in the example of cochlear implants... We already know it is not the same as a Hearing person.

Overall, this seems like an interesting experiment, as the creator states, to allow the Deaf community to experience a "different sense".

Is this really the cure for Deafness?

I recently read an article titled "New Stem Cell Therapy May Lead To Treatment For Deafness." Of course, I was intrigued to find out more details. "A new study led by Dr. Marcelo N. Rivolta of the University of Sheffield (in England) has successfully isolated human auditory stem cells from fetal cochleae (the auditory portion of the inner ear) and found they had the capacity to differentiate into sensory hair cells and neurons."

It probably sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo to us. No worries. Here's the details in simpler terms:

Your ear is made of many different parts.

Each part is responsible for a different function of the ear. This article focuses on the cochlea only.

The cochlea is designed to pretty much catch all the sounds and pass them onto its core component which is called the corti. 

The corti acts like an interpreter. It distinguishes and interprets all the different kinds of sounds. Inside the corti are millions of hair cells.

Each hair cell acts like a receptor. Each hair cell is responsible for only 1 sound. The corti takes all of those sounds received from the hair cells and sends an electrical signal to the brain. The brain  deciphers these signals.

If some of the hair cells happen to be damaged, then it will cause (sensorineural) hearing loss.

In this article, the researchers have found a way to grow their own hair cells which can be used to replace the hair cells in the corti (inside the cochlea).

In other words, say good-bye to the cochlear implant and say hello to this technique for the future!

Now my question to you, 

"How do you feel about this?"

Finally, Captioning for Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Sports Venues!!!

Here is some exciting news for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community! Finally, I can go to a baseball stadium and enjoy Closed Captioning (CC) on the jumbo screen. Finally, I can go to Deaflympics and enjoy the CC. Finally, I can go to the Air & Space Museum and enjoy subtitles.

Debra Joyce, President of NJCaptions , and Jennifer Bonfilio, , President of Team Captioning, combined with more than 30 years of experience in providing captioning, have decided to work together and founded a new company, Coast 2 Coast Captioning… Coast 2 Coast Captioning will “provide Communication Access Realtime Technology (CART) and Open & Closed Captioning services to sports and entertainment stadiums, arenas, auditoriums, and other public venues, as well as meeting and conference centers nationwide.”

http://www.c2ccaptioning.com

"There has been a significant jump in the number of hard-of-hearing consumers who are requesting captioning." 

Coast 2 Coast Captioning works closely with organizations such as Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) and Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), to adhere to the parameters of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in public places, and to provide the best experience and optimal communication for public safety.

Superbowl, here I come!!!!! haha.

A series of children books translated into American Sign Language (ASL)

While hearing children and adults are being exposed to ASL in ever increasing numbers, an ever decreasing number of Deaf children are given that same opportunity. What a powerful, yet scary statement! Unfortunately, it’s true. As much as statistics have proven that American Sign Language does indeed help children develop better, their exposure has been decreasing. (Babies)
I stumbled onto this website; http://www.asltales.net. I am impressed with what they are doing. I watched a few of their video clips and enjoyed watching  them.

They designed a series of children books and translated them into ASL. 

“We aspire to get your child excited about seeing and describing things visually - the foundation upon which all sign languages are formed. We have provided tools to send the motivated ASL learner on the path to understand and use the nuances of this beautiful language. And future signer or not, all readers will delight in the whimsy available in ASL and be exposed to why the American Deaf Community is so proud of its language.”

Check out one of their clips and see if you find them as interesting as I did.

So do you think Deaf or Hard of Hearing can dance???

Hey! So you think you can dance??? What about Deaf people??? Can Deaf people dance? Can they even feel the music? Well, Jarrell Robinson, a Deaf contestant from Glenwood, Illinois , seems to think so! He competed for a chance to be the best dancer on the show, "So You Think You Can Dance".

"I"m doing this for all the deaf community. I want them to know that deaf people can do anything. What they really want...if you put in your mind, you can do anything! As long you stay positive."

All the judges have agreed that Jarrell did a great job and is an inspirational role model for everyone else. Mad props to him.

So my question to you.

Where are the other Deaf dancers? Do we know any others?

Oh I See! News in ASL !!! www.oicmovies.com

Don't you hate it when you're watching the news and the Closed Captioning (CC) is behind, incorrect, or even doesn't show up??? I hate it too! I finally found a good website where I can watch everyday news in American Sign Language (ASL). www.oicmovies.com. 

www.oicmovies.com. 

"Our vision is to provide the best available resource for news, information and entertainment in American Sign Language. We do this by producing original programming in ASL and organizing available ASL content from the web."

Lastly, I got the opportunity to interview with the founder of www.oicmovies.com. See below for the script. 


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1) Is www.oicmovies.com Deaf owned?

     Yes. My name is Mary Luczki, I'm deaf, and run the company with two hearing partners, Carrie Lezotte, and Diane Cheklich.  Carrie and Diane have business and production experience (they own oneofusfilms), and used their money to get us going.  I manage all the content, what stories are important to the Deaf, what videos are good enough ASL for the site, and I make sure we are Deaf and ASL in our overall viewpoint, focus and vision.  I also want to make sure there is a variety of ASL signing styles for everyone.  Even though it is my partners who have provided the money for this, they have made it clear that this is for the Deaf, it's our community, and they never even think about telling me what to say or do on the site. 

2) Tell me a bit about yourself and how you came up with this idea?
     I have an interesting story for that. Everyone in my family is Deaf and I was born hard of hearing. My family always asks me questions; "What's going on? What are they saying? What are they doing?" and so forth. I was almost like an interpreter or perhaps a reporter, always explaining everything to them. Eventually, I became fully Deaf when I was around 13 years old. If you don't mind me saying, that's when I became "normal" with the rest of my family.  Yet I still enjoyed gathering news and explaining it to my family and friends. That led me to the idea of signing out the news.  Another hearing friend came up with the idea of putting it on VHS tapes, and distributing it via a subscription system. We tried it out, but it was difficult to do that because we didn't have enough technology back at that time time around the 1990s. Fortunately, technology is now easy for all of us. We also have the Internet. Anyone all over the world can access it. So I decided to give it another try! My friend, Fawn Alleyne, who happened to work for oneofusfilms.org, contacted me and suggested setting it up for the internet. She was kind enough to set up a meeting with Carrie and Diane where I could pitch my idea to them. They loved it and here we are as a result.

3) How long have www.oicmovies.com been up and running?

     Just a bit more than a year now.  I met Carrie and Diane about two years ago through Fawn, and we met and worked on the site, shooting videos and talking about it, for about a year before we launched, in April of 2009. 

4) May I ask, in what ways are the sponsors helping you?
     They gave me all the equipment needed to do this. They literally are paying for everything including the website.  We actually are earning nothing from this. This is all volunteer-based.  They have even provided a mini-studio in my home to make it easier for me to generate the news videos at home, then upload to be edited and put on the site.

5) That is very generous of them! Do you have any plans to bring in any revenues to help reduce the financial burden from your sponsors?

     Oh yes. We truly appreciate everything they have done for us. In fact, we are thinking of ways to pay them back as our token of appreciation. We have some ads on our website, but that doesn't pay much yet because we haven't reached the #s of members needed to make a significant difference. As we continue to build our membership by providing the best ASL resource on the web, our ad sales will help generate the money we need.  We've been steadily growing for a year, and we've found out about half our audience are people learning ASL, so we're going to offer a reasonably priced captioning option that those learning ASL can pay for monthly. OICmovies has just been spending money to get to where we are, and so this service will turn us into a real business that can create jobs for more people. We really want to publish new stories every day and have a variety of reporters, but it will take a bit of regular money to do that. Additionally, we just released our first dvd, "Best of OIC Movies 2009: ASL only edition" for $19.95. Also, people can support us by purchasing shirts, hats & caps, bags, cups, buttons, magnets, and mouse pads on http://www.cafepress.com/oicmovies.  we plan to have a Best of Cassie DVD available soon as well.  Cassie is our star Deaf comedian. 

6) I noticed you did say you need #s of members needed to make a significant difference, what kind of #s are you talking about? 
     Well, we now have about over 10,000 members and and that was one of the milestones we needed to hit, then revenues generated from the ads will increase. So the # of hits which means the # of people that visit www.oicmovies.com can be used to attract sponsors and advertisers. Think what it would be if we could have 100,000 members!

7) As you may or not know, there are other websites such as DeafNewspaper., iDeafnews and etc, how are you different?
     I prefer to focus on the news happening around us. Often enough, Deaf people would watch the news, but they don't understand it quite well. Sometimes the Closed Captioning (CC) are out of sync, far behind, or doesn't even appear or is just plain inaccurate. That really hurt the Deaf population. Also, in Deaf culture, we do not only want to know the story, but we want to know why and how. For example, the earthquake in Haiti; the news about people getting hurt and millions of dollars in damage is not enough for Deaf people. Deaf people want to know how did it happen? What caused it?  Also, sometimes Deaf people are not familiar with their terminology such as Richter magnitude scale, aftershock, and etc. In my videos, I make sure to explain the terminology, "why" and "how".  I think Deaf people really benefit from it.
     Also I would like to add one more thing. iDeafNews seems to focus on the Deaf-related events. DeafNewspaper like to talk about Deaf personal stories. Finally, OIC Movies are about the daily news that you see on television. So I think with three of us, we complete the world of news. That's a good thing in my opinion. 

8) What's the biggest opportunity you predict for your business?

     Well, the beauty of news is that we'll never run out of news. There'll always be something going on in USA and in the world. As I said before, if we can figure out how to generate revenues, I think we can finally start paying people for reports than asking them to volunteer. That'll help us to increase the amount of news and even broadcast it 24/7. 

9) What's the biggest challenge OIC Moviesis currently facing? 

     Probably generating revenue so we can accomplish more. We've been able to get a lot accomplished without a lot of resources, so, like any new small business, managing our growth is a challenge. There's so much we want to do, so many stories to tell, and probably the hardest thing is to stay focused on one thing, delivering the news once a week, when there are so many things that need to get done. We want to be neutral and unbiased and factual. We just want to deliver the news and let the Deaf think for themselves. We have a small staff, the three of us and a few other volunteers, so we can't make big things happen quickly, but we are thinking big!
     In addition, we are working on being family friendly, so that any one of any age can watch us.  I have had schools who contacted me and told me how much they enjoyed showing OIC Movies to their children. The children really benefit from it. However, I did have one school who contacted  me and told me they couldn?t show my website because unknown to me, one of the google ads was showing a dating website and it was not allowed in their school. I had to contact the website host and ask them to block those kind of ads. Go figure. Those kind of things are sometimes unexpected obstacles that we face, but that?s part of business. We can't always react as fast as we want to, but we were able to make the chance.