Deaf

Angela (played by deaf actress Miriam Garlo, who is also writer-director’s Eva Libertad’s sister) is expecting her first child with her hearing partner, Hector (Álvaro Cervantes). It should be the happiest time in her life. But everyone around her is on tenterhooks about whether the baby will be born deaf, and in fact initial tests may be inconclusive. Angela has never felt more alone.

This moving, naturalistic drama will be an eye-opener for many. Although Angela has loving parents, it’s clear to her and us that they’re desperate for a hearing grandchild, and while her partner Hector is sensitive to her feelings, the pregnancy will prove a testing time for their union. When the baby comes (a sequence that won’t easily be forgotten) things only become more challenging…

Eva Libertad’s compassionate, sensitive debut feature [is] a low-key crowd pleaser.

Jonathan Holland, Screen International

A bang-on illustration of how cinema can be an engine for empathy, and certainly viewers won’t need to be deaf themselves to get what Angela is going through. It is a moving exploration of the difficulties of new motherhood, a moment full of anxiety and pain as much as joy for some people. The performances are beautifully nuanced throughout.

4/5 Leslie Felperin, The Guardian

Deaf navigates sensitive emotional terrain with sure-handed intelligence and empathy.

Kevin Harley, Radio Times