A short film that tackles notions of deaf hood, prosthesis and cyborgs, Niranthea compiles the unscripted thoughts and experiences of a group of six deaf or hard-of-hearing people. Through regular conversations and research sessions mediated by the director Marco Donnarumma, himself a late-deafened person, the movie strives to question and illuminate on the act of “hearing”, and how these bodies can claim self-empowerment and understanding in a hearing world that is still yet to learn just how to listen.
*** The two short film sessions presented in this edition of SONICA EKRANO take place under the aegis of the European project tekhnē, dedicated to innovative uses and approaches to technology from a user perspective.
The first of these sessions brings together three films that, in different ways, address the issue of (dis)ability in musical creation - from the thoughtful adaptations of guitarist Loren Connors and sound artist Marco Donnarumma to their degenerative physical conditions, to the celebration of the Portuguese punk band 5ª Punkada performing on stages across the continent.