SEE WHAT I'M SAYING: THE DEAF ENTERTAINERS DOCUMENTARY
September 6, 2012, 7:00 P.M.
The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Cinematheque108, the USC Disability Services and Programs, and Wordplay, Inc. invite you and a guest to a special screening of
See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary
About See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary
This inspirational and heartfelt documentary follows four well-known entertainers in the deaf community: a comic, a drummer, an actor and a singer as they attempt to cross over to mainstream audiences. These uniquely talented deaf entertainers overcome great challenges on their way to personal triumphs and professional success.
Bob, a drummer in the world’s only deaf rock band, Beethoven’s Nightmare, produces the largest show in the band’s 30 year history; CJ, a hugely famous and internationally renowned comic in the Deaf world, but virtually unknown to hearing audiences, fights to cross over to the mainstream by producing the first international sign language theatre festival in Los Angeles; Robert, a brilliant actor who teaches at Juilliard, struggles to survive when he becomes homeless while living with HIV; and TL, a hard of hearing singer finds herself caught between the hearing and deaf communities when she attracts her first major producer to record her first CD “Not Deaf Enough.”
Chronicled with rare intimacy and candor, See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary is the first open captioned* commercial film in American history. At the same time, it opens the door to deaf culture, allowing the sign language in the film to be accessible to all audiences. With humor and emotion, director Hilari Scarl captures with insight and honesty the many obstacles these performers face daily.
Provided courtesy of Wordplay, Inc. Rated PG-13. Running time: 90 minutes. Presented with Open Captioning.
To learn more about the film and to view the trailer, click here.
Visit the Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/See-What-Im-Saying-The-Deaf-Entertainers-Documentary/40010381979?ref=ts
About the Guest
HILARI SCARL, Director/Producer
Hilari is an award-winning director/producer who was chosen by Steven Spielberg out of 12,000 filmmakers to appear his television show On The Lot, earning top praise from judges Garry Marshall, Carrie Fischer and Ron Avnet and receiving a first look deal at DreamWorks. Her multi-award winning feature See What I’m Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary won dozens of awards, received the Critics’ Pick in the New York Times and received distribution with New Video on DVD and Netflix. The film was distributed theatrically by Hilari’s company Worldplay, Inc. and has screened in 152 cities in 15 countries, earning a spot as one of the top 350 grossing documentaries of all times. The film screened for employees at DreamWorks, Universal Studios and a special weekend event with Downtown Disney created around the film. Scarl obtained title sponsorship from Sprint and produced the first interactive online short film competition that encouraged captioning online films and casting deaf actors. Scarl also directed the music video of the film’s title song through her sponsorship with Sprint.
Before See What I’m Saying, Hilari directed/produced 18 short films in comedy, documentary and drama that received festival awards, online distribution and critical acclaim including the WE TV/Ladies Home Journal WE Do Good Award presented to her in New York City by host Sherri Shepherd and Academy Award winning actress Marlee Matlin. Hilari has produced TV shows on CBS, TLC, Court TV and the History Channel and spent this past summer as one of nine participants in the Producers Guild of America’s Power of Diversity program developing a new TV show. Originating from a professional theatre background in New York, her stage credits include touring with the National Theatre of the Deaf in An Italian Straw Hat with an extraordinary cast that inspired See What I’m Saying. Hilari has also worked with the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, the Deaf Arts Council, New York Deaf Theatre and Deaf West Theatre as a director, performer and educator.
CJ JONES
BOB HILTERMANN
About the Moderator
THOMAS G. MILLER, M.D., M.F.A. (SCA Adjunct Faculty)
Thomas G. Miller has worked on documentaries and in public television since 1994. He associate produced the Sundance award-winning film Licensed To Kill and co-produced and edited Fender Philosophers and the feature documentary Camp Out. Miller has also edited the feature documentary films, Rock the Boat, Good Kurds, Bad Kurds, Home of the Brave and was supervising editor on See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary. He directed, produced, co-wrote and co-edited the award- winning feature documentary, One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story. Other credits include editing biographies for Fox Family, and producing television films for Discovery and WNET's series on disabilities, People in Motion.
Miller is also on the executive board of the International Documentary Association, a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Writers Guild of America, West and has been teaching documentary filmmaking and editing at the USC School of Cinematic Arts since 2004. He is also a board certified pediatrician and has practiced medicine and served as medical consultant for Sesame Street and other film and television series.
Miller graduated with a B.S. degree in zoology from the University of Michigan, an M.D. from the Medical College of Ohio, and an M.F.A. from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
About Open Captions
The term “Open Captions” is used when text is burned-in on the picture, similar to subtitles for foreign films. Open captions includes audio descriptors and non-speech information that assist deaf audiences, such as [phone rings] or a musical note symbol to indicate music. Unlike closed captions that can be turned on and off (like you see on screens in bars, gyms and on most televisions), open captions are part of the film and can’t be turned off. See What I'm Saying is the first open captioned commercial film in American history, making the entire film accessible to deaf, hard of hearing and hearing audiences at every screening. Captions for See What I'm Saying were generously funded by Microsoft.
About Cinematheque108
Cinematheque108 is an alternative screening series sponsored by the Critical Studies Department at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. The series offers a rare selection of events that highlight noteworthy experimental, documentary, and/or foreign films, many of which can not be seen anywhere else. Cinematheque108 is an educational forum that aims to expand understanding of alternative film and media. All screenings are free of charge and open to the pubic.
About the USC Disability Services and Programs
The USC Disability Services and Programs offers an innovative approach to assisting students with dyslexia, ADHD, and other identified learning differences. Equipped with state-of-the-art assistive technology and enhanced academic support services, the center provides insight and guidance into your preferred method of learning.
Visit their website: http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.html
About Parking
The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes may be purchased for $8.00 at USC Entrance Gate #5, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & McClintock Avenue. We recommend parking in outdoor Lot M or V, or Parking Structure D, at the far end of 34th Street. Please note that Parking Structure D cannot accommodate tall vehicles such as SUVs. Metered parking is also available along Jefferson Blvd.
Contact Information
Name: Alessandro Ago
Email: aago@cinema.usc.edu