The 12th edition of the Hong Kong International Deaf Film Festival will be held from 1 December to 3 December, and we have collected the best deaf films from different countries, such as France, Sweden, India, Malaysia, etc. We prepare six different themes for the festival. We hope the HKIDFF12 will continuous to provide a window for the audiences into an extraordinary art form and may change the way the audiences think about the non-hearing world.

Programme Schedule:
1/12 (Fri) 7:30pm       Programme 1: Opening Ceremony & The 2nd HK Deaf Short Film Contest (total duration: 103 minutes)
2/12 (Sat) 12pm         Programme 2: Deaf life - Live in the moment (total duration: 92 minutes)
2/12 (Sat) 3:30pm      Programme 3: Deaf Art – A Dialogue with Art (total duration: 85 minutes)
2/12 (Sat) 8pm           Programme 4: Deaf History - Historic Wanderings (total duration: 97 minutes)
3/12 (Sun) 12:30pm  Seminar: Deaf People and Social Rights, and Deaf People and Gender Diversity For registration, please click here
3/12 (Sun) 4pm         Programme 5: Deaf Education - Thriving in silence (total duration: 96 minutes)
3/12 (Sun) 8:15pm    Programme 6: Deaf story - The Soul of Sign Language & Closing ceremony (total duration: 112 minutes)

Tickets are now available on POPTICKET.hk.

Programme 1: Opening Ceremony & The 2nd HK Deaf Short Film Contest (total duration: 103 minutes)

1/12 (Fri) 7:30pm

Diagnonsense

Director: Samuel Dore

United Kingdom | 2022 | 27’ | In English with British Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles |

• Golden Award, the 2nd HK Deaf Short Film Contest

Set in 1996 at a psychiatric hospital, a Social Worker, Louise, meets Patrick, a Deaf patient who has been kept in the hospital for 36 years. He was wrongly diagnosed as schizophrenic. Louise has to fight discriminatory attitudes to get an institutionalised Patrick to appeal against his diagnosis and Patrick has to recall painful memories of events that led to his incarceration.

CODA & Proud

Director: Laura Eadsforth

United Kingdom | 2022 | 8’ | In English with British Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

• Silver Award, the 2nd HK Deaf Short Film Contest

In this short documentary, several young CODAs (children of deaf adults) tell us about their lives while reflecting on their identities. Have they had similar kinds of experiences or not? What's CODA Camp like? And... are their parents’ good singers?!

A Sonic Pulse

Co-Directors: Dorothy Allen-Pickard, Antoine Marinot

United Kingdom | 2019 | 7’ | In English with British Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

• Bronze Award, the 2nd HK Deaf Short Film Contest

"Music shouldn't be defined by hearing people because it's about feeling vibrations and frequencies.” A Sonic Pulse explores D/deaf people’s experience of electronic music from a visceral, communal and scientific perspective.

Voice

Director: Tomoko Takahashi

Japan | 2021 | 19’ | In Japanese with Japanese Sign Language | Chinese, English and Japanese Subtitles

• Special Mention, the 2nd HK Deaf Short Film Contest

Honma Hikaru, a Deaf karate athlete who has won several medals in karate competitions, participates in the trial for an important karate competition. But right before her performance, the committee chairman tells her that we would have to forfeit if she did not say the names of Kata (karate moves) verbally. It brings her back to when she was little, to the memories that a lot of Deaf people in Japan may have experienced in the past…

La Maynade

Director: Julien Bourges

France | 2022 | 19’ | French Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

• Special Mention, the 2nd HK Deaf Short Film Contest

Sarah does not know her parents. One day, a message tells her that her father, Marc, has disappeared in the Pyrenees. She decides to go to Gérard, Marc's best friend, at "La Maynade" to find out more about his parents...

The Silenced

Director: Julien Bourges

France | 2022 | 23’ | French Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

• Special Mention, the 2nd HK Deaf Short Film Contest

On April 5, 2021, Mediapart published an article about the mistreatment of deaf children at the deaf school in Asnières, the Gustave Baguer Institute just north of Paris. In fact, the mistreatment of deaf children in quite a few deaf schools and medico-social services has existed for many years. These six deaf people decided to break the silence and tell their stories…

Programme 2: Deaf life - Live in the moment (total duration: 92 minutes)

2/12 (Sat) 12pm

Pekak & Bisu

Director: Jared Lee

Malaysia | 2019 | 16’ | In Malay with Malaysia Sign Language| Chinese and English Subtitles

Pekak and Bisu follow two homeless orphans, a 12-year-old mute and her deaf younger sister, as they navigate life on their own. Despite their harsh circumstances, they see the world with a glimmer of hope in the way that only children can.

CAMERA

Director: Dhinesh R.P

Indian | 2022 | 16’ | In English with Indian Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

Photographers need cameras. Daniel Jebaraj is a businessman and photographer, but he doesn't know anything about warnings in cameras. Because he is the owner of the business, his parents give him a birthday gift with a camera. He works for his photographer while traveling who somebody have joined 3 dead persons at your face and eyes to fall down from dangerous in a camera photographer in their eyes that he is scared and worried to warn them about this dangerous photography equipment. He made a mistake because he didn't know what was dangerous about camera photography. Be careful not to let anyone in your face or eyes. If you don't see me, you will die.

Ginger & Honey Milk (ジンジャーミルク)

Director: Mika Imai

Japan | 2021 | 60’ | In Japanese with Japanese Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

"Maybe I'm gay" says Kento as they come out to their friend, Rei. Amid a COVID-19 state of emergency imposed in April 2020, this human drama traces the lives of four university students, both deaf and hearing. Their joys and sorrows intersect in a complex four-way relationship.

Programme 3: Deaf Art – A Dialogue with Art (total duration: 85 minutes)

2/12 (Sat) 3:30pm

DeafBlind Couple

Director: Esteban Pedraza

United States | 2015 | 4’ | No dialogue

DeafBlind Couple is a short cinematic ode to the sensation of touch and the feeling of intimacy with another human being. A man and woman who can neither see nor hear wake up in bed next to each other, communicate, and rekindle their relationship through touch alone. Through the use of experimental sound design, and increasingly intimate cinematography, DeafBlind Couple illustrates the simultaneous deep isolation and true moments of connection between its two characters.

Origin of Time – Fun Forest 2022 MV Shooting

Director: Cheng Hoi Chi

Hong Kong | 2022 | 3’ | In Cantonese with Hong Kong Sign Language | Chinese Subtitles

A message to the film "One Second Champion" through its classic dialogue: As long as we cherish every minute and every second, when accumulated, they can become a significant force. Believe that each one of us is unique, have faith in our abilities, persevere, and create miracles.

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

Director: Daisuke Miyazaki

Japan | 2022 | 68’ | In Japanese with Japanese Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

The current. Humans are only a part of the whole, yet they exist in each. An omnibus film depicts the day of a group of people gathered in a certain forest.

Two Deaf Travellers

Director: Raabia Hussain

United Kingdom | 2019 | 10’ | In English with British Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

Two young Deaf filmmakers document the challenges and discoveries that they come across on a journey.

Programme 4: Deaf History - Historic Wanderings (total duration: 97 minutes) 

2/12 (Sat) 8pm*

* with after-screening discussion

La Vérité

Director: Julien Bourges

France | 2018 | 97’ | In French with French Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

Clementine supports deaf children whose educational level is very low. After the suicide of one of her former students, a deaf young man in a situation of failure in the face of society, she decides to make things happen with the help of a journalist.

Seminar: Deaf People and Social Rights, and Deaf People and Gender Diversity

3/12 (Sun) 12:30pm

French Sign Language and Japanese Sign Language | Simultaneous interpretation between Hong Kong Sign Language and Cantonese

Guest: Julien Bourges & 今井ミカ Mika Imai

For registration, please click here

Programme 5: Deaf Education - Thriving in silence (total duration: 96 minutes)

3/12（日）(Sun) 4pm*

* with after-screening discussion

Through the Eyes of Deaf Children / A View from the Window

Directors: Azar Kafaei, Chris Filippone

United States | 2018 | 8’ | In English with American Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

An immersive glimpse of a school day through the eyes of deaf children.

Words of Caramel

Director: Juan Antonio Moreno

Sweden | 2016 | 21’ | In Swedish, English with Sweden sign language| Chinese and English Subtitles

"Words of Caramel" is a deaf-short film and a sensorial experience that invites spectators to feel, see, and listen through the deaf world, enjoying the beauty and silence of the desert. However, the world of Kori is unusual because he has always lived in refugee camps in the Sahara, unknowing the sign language. He needs to learn to write in order to overcome the barriers of his lack of communication and thus reclaim his educational rights.

The age of communication for the deaf 

Director: Chen Li Yu

Taiwan | 2016 | 19’ | In Mandarin and Taiwanese sign language| Chinese and English Subtitles

As Paul leads us on a journey through time, exploring the evolution of communication among the Deaf community, we witness the impact of modern technology on facilitating connections between people. While advancements in technology have made communication more convenient, they have also brought about the problem of people becoming absorbed in their devices, creating a sense of distance even when physically present in the same location. This issue not only affects hearing individuals but also exists within the Deaf community, prompting us to contemplate its implications.

The Pigeonhole Man and the Deaf

Director: Michael Schaap

Holland | 2014| 46’ | In Dutch with Holland sign languages| Chinese and English Subtitles

A documentary that provides an objective portrayal of the Deaf community, focusing on their collective experiences rather than individual or medical perspectives. 

Programme 6: Deaf story - The Soul of Sign Language & Closing ceremony (total duration: 112 minutes)

3/12 (Sun) 8:15pm

Reverberations

Director: Samuel Dore

United Kingdom | 2018| 28’ | In English with British Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

A future government will eradicate all deafness. A time traveler is sent to the present to find and stop the inventor of the cure before it’s too late.

Silence

Director: Jack Swiker

United States | 2018| 9’ | In English with American Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

After an accident leaves her without her hearing, a young woman is challenged to accept her disability with the help of her ASL instructor and the support of the hearing impaired community.

You Are Noted

Director: Thorbjörn Krischke (Mister)

Switzerland | 2021 | 20’ | In English with International Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

After a breakup with her boyfriend, Emma tries to start a new life. However, she receives a mysterious note in front of her apartment, which creates fear and terror. A dark psychological thriller with terrible consequences by newcomer filmmaker Thorbjörn Krischke.

IL Traditore

Director: Antonio Cannata

Italy | 2022 | 37’ | In Italian with Italian Sign Language | Chinese and English Subtitles

Leo is a hitman struggling with alcohol to forget his heart problems. He is paid by his boss to kill his wife, who has wounded his pride, but caught up in the fumes of alcohol, he will miss his target. The boss, not accepting the lack of his killer, will condemn him to death as a traitor. Leo will have to defend himself against the killers sent by his boss and discredit his name.

﹝Addition Screening for Closing Ceremony ﹞

Sign In Dance

Director: Cheng Hoi Chi Sharis

Hong Kong | 2023 | 9’ | In Cantonese with Hong Kong Sign Language | Chinese Subtitles

Sign Language Guided Tour for Christie's Hong Kong Spring Auction 2023

Director: Ng Leong Wai

Hong Kong | 2023 | 4’ | In Cantonese with Hong Kong Sign Language | Chinese Subtitles

In the past, the deaf artist Mr. Ren Zhenhan shone brightly in the world of art with his unique artistic style, profound content, and his love for art and talent. His works are not just beautiful paintings, but also a gateway to the world of art. In this sign language guided tour, besides taking the audience to appreciate the works of different masters, it also allows them to experience the magic of Mr. Ren Zhenhan's paintings up close in the shortest time possible.

International Sign Language Day Exhibition

Director: Ng Leong Wai

Hong Kong | 2023 | 5’ | In Cantonese with Hong Kong Sign Language | Chinese Subtitles

Since 2018, the United Nations has designated September 23rd as "International Sign Language Day" to commemorate the establishment of the World Federation of the Deaf in 1951. This significant day symbolizes the promotion of Deaf culture, support for the language rights and human rights of sign language users. The exhibition will showcase sign language book displays, archival clippings, reports, and publications from Hong Kong and other regions, providing insights into the history of the Deaf community. It offers a profound opportunity to delve into sign language culture and the Deaf community, inviting us to explore and cherish the unique beauty of this silent language.

Tickets are now available on POPTICKET.hk. 

The 12th Hong Kong International Deaf Film Festival “HKIDFF12” Movie Package: HK$378

- Include one ticket each for all of the six screening programmes

Standard ticket price: HK$90

Concession ticket price: HK$72, specially offer to:

• HKAC members, full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, and people with disabilities and the minder and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients.
• each purchase of 4 or more standard tickets.

Notice to Ticket Buyers:

• Concessionary ticket holders must produce evidence of their identity or age upon admission.
• Only one discount offer could be applied to each ticket purchase.
• Each ticket requires a HK$10 POPTICKET.hk platform handling fee, which will be settled together with the ticket price.
• No refund, cancellation or amendment will be allowed once the tickets are sold. There will be no replacement for any loss or damage of the tickets.
• After successfully purchasing the tickets, you will receive the electronic ticket QR Code by email from POPTICKET.hk. For admission, audience must present the QR code (either in electric or printed version) shown on the POPTICKET.hk e-ticket at the venue.
• Each QR Code entitles admission for one person. A valid QR Code must be presented for admission. If you purchase multiple tickets, you will receive the same number of QR codes.
• No smoking, eating or drinking is allowed in the venue. Unauthorized filming, photography, video or audio recording is prohibited.
• The organiser and POPTICKET.hk reserve the right to amend their terms and conditions at any time without prior notice.
• Programmes are subject to change without prior notice.