One Letter by Brian Duffy begins with a hearing man who reunites with his deaf cousin at a family funeral. As he delivers his eulogy, long simmering tensions and resentments come to the surface.
The film explores the relationship between the words ‘deaf’ and ‘dead’ – a common autocorrect mistake that turns ‘deaf’ into ‘dead’ to highlight the isolation experienced by many deaf people growing up in hearing families, and in society. This feeling of isolation is commonly referred to as ‘Dinner Table Syndrome’.
The film advocates that it is vital for society to recognise the separation that deaf people feel from the rest of the world and that more opportunities are necessary for them to share their experiences and stories.
One Letter (2022) is directed by Brian Duffy, a deaf actor, director and British Sign Language (BSL) consultant who won Best Director for his short film Strangers (2012) at the Festival D’Oeil. The film was written by producer, director and scriptwriter William Mager who has extensive experience of writing and directing productions featuring BSL, and consulted on flagship television programmes such as Dr Who and Casualty. The project is produced by award-winning Ash Horne, who began his career with two seasons of the musical comedy sitcom The Midnight Beast (2012) on E4.
Hear Art is a social enterprise dedicated to supporting deaf creatives and engaging collaboration between deaf and hearing artists. By producing accessible content and promoting mutual understanding, the organisation strives to create a more inclusive and vibrant artistic landscape.
This exhibition was developed in collaboration with BSL Celebration as part of Southampton BSL Fest.
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