Our hearing loss documentary We Hear You goes mainstream, with a win for Best Film on Disability in the June 2021 awards at the Cannes World Film Festival! As a monthly Winner, We Hear You is automatically entered in the Annual Competition for a chance to become a Grand Winner and be screened in Cannes during the festival’s annual Award Ceremony in 2022.
Thank you to Cannes World Film Festival for recognizing the importance of films about disability and for helping us raise awareness about hearing loss with mainstream audiences. We are thrilled to see our film recognized and are crossing our fingers for the next stage of the competition.
We Hear You Has Two Main Goals
My co-executive producers Roxana Rotundo and Holly Cohen and I developed We Hear You with two goals in mind:
- To bring the hearing loss community together
- To raise awareness about hearing loss in the mainstream
The film’s win in the festival brings us closer to the second of the two goals. Earlier this summer We Hear You was also named an Official Selection of the Montreal Independent Film Festival and The IndieFEST Film Awards.
We continue to seek opportunities to raise awareness about the hearing loss experience and are marketing the documentary to television stations and streaming services and entering it in international film festivals. The film and producers are also available for screenings and talkbacks at conferences on aging, disability, and hearing loss. Inquire at info@we-hearyou.com.
What is We Hear You About?
When you have hearing loss, conversation is like a game of Wheel of Fortune. Some of the letters are blank. Others are filled in. People with hearing loss take these incomplete sounds and put them into words or phrases that make sense in the context of the conversation. It doesn’t always work, leaving us isolated and alone. The pandemic made this worse, as masks took away our superpower — lipreading. We struggle to fit into the hearing world, yet there is a silver lining — meeting one another.
We Hear You features 4 women with hearing loss, each confronting stigmas, setbacks, and successes as they strive to live well despite the challenges of hearing loss.
Exclusive Screening for Hearing Loss Community
We Hear You was conceived, filmed and directed across two continents, all during the COVID-19 pandemic. By shining a light on the hearing loss experience, it strives to build awareness, community and a more inclusive world for all. An exclusive screening of We Hear You for the hearing loss community is being planned for September. Stay tuned for more details.
Readers, what would you tell mainstream audiences about your experiences living with hearing loss?
Congrats!!
Thanks Susan!
Wow, terrific work to all of you! I look forward to seeing it, do you know when it will be available for viewing?
We are planning a screening and talkback for September. Stay tuned for details.
Wow! That is so awesome, congratulations!!!
Thanks Corey!
Congratulations Shari – so well deserved.
Thank you! It was a team effort.
Congratulations! I look forward to the screening and talkback of the entire film in September 2021.
Thanks Audrey! We are excited to share it with the community.
Congratulations!
Thank you Iain!
Great accomplishment! Thanks for advocating!
Thank you for your support.
Is there any news about the exclusive September viewing? We are nearly at the end of the month and I’m looking forward to seeing the film.
It took place already but the link to watch it is live through Oct 28. https://player
Thank you! I just watched it and it’s great! I was born deaf 50+ years ago, wore hearing aids and then got bilateral CI about 6 years ago. So I can relate to a lot in the film although I’ve never been one to bother about trying to hide my hearing loss – perhaps there’s a gender element to that. We need more films like this to really get the message out there!
So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your feedback.