On April 23, 2023, I went to see The Tuba Thieves at the E Street Landmark Theater in Washington D.C This is an indie film directed written, and produced by Alison O'Daniel. It was shown at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah this year, and at several other film festivals around the nation.
The Tuba Thieves is a work of creative non-fiction that tells the story of crimes that have an interesting target, tubas. That's right, tubas, like the instrument you play in a school band. These tuba crimes that occur in Southern California Schools are based on a true story that occurred between 2011-2013. The settings in the film vary from churches to neighborhoods, to schools, but they are all important to the crime. The film presents a fresh perspective on the cause and effect of these tuba thieves' actions: from a game of telephone with tons of miscommunication and silence. What makes this film unique is that the entire cast is deaf or hard of hearing. They rely on body language, signs, vibrations, and other people's misinterpretations to learn about these tuba crimes.
The two main performers, Nyke Prince, a deaf woman who plays a fictionalized version of herself in the film; and Geovanny Marroquin, who is in a tuba-less band tell the stories of these robberies. Although, they lack sound, voice, and communication usage which leads to a lot of misinterpretation.
The entire film is silent, includes the usage of American Sign Language, and minimal closed captioning because of the way the audience should experience the film. It's all about using other senses like sight, touch, and smell. The director wants viewers to experience the film like the witnesses of the tuba thieves did.
Included, in the image below is an image of a golden balloon and my film brochure. The golden film was given to audience members before the film so that they could blow it up. The balloon is a way for the audience to experience sound during different parts of the film, like during an airplane take-off, a fire, or someone cracking a bottle open. Balloons are meant to make static noises, vibrations, and pop. They created the sound experience that was missing from the film since it was meant to be silent and with closed-captioning. I thought that it was a really cool way to experience sound from a deaf or hard-of-hearing person's perspective.
After the film, I attended a Q and A session that included, Alison O'Daniel and Nyke Prince. It was short and very much inclusive. There was an interpreter, and Nyke and Alison also made sure that everyone could see and hear themselves sing and talk. In the Q and A, the moderator asked Alison, a few questions about why she created the film and how she picked her cast. Alison that she wanted to feature this tube-related crime in her film because it was unique and something that people overlooked. I honestly, didn't know about this story until I saw this film. She also told us that the moment, she found Nyke in another production, she told herself that she has to have her in the film. That's definitely a big achievement, when you get your dream cast in your film, even if it's an indie film.
During, the second part of the Q and A, Alison opened up the floor to answer audience member's questions. I wanted to ask a question but could not think of one on the spot during that short time. So I listened to other people ask questions. Most of the audience members who got a chance to ask a question asked about the importance of close captioning and accessibility included in the experience. I cannot quite remember what Alison's answers were to their questions, but I remember her saying talking about how Marlee Matlin walked out of a Sundance Film Festival event when closed captions were not provided. This current event, meant a lot to Alison because she said that a film cannot be experienced by everyone if it is not accessible. This is so true, whether you know if someone in the audience is deaf or not, you should always make your experience as inclusive as you can. Include, staff members with disabilities and get other people's perspectives.
The Tuba Thieves is a unique film experience that I encourage everyone to look out for and learn more about. I am not sure when it will be available to watch in a place that is not a film festival but if you do see a film festival in the U.S., I encourage you to go see it. I have linked below some resources and articles about the film if you want to learn more about it. Again, I am only a viewer, who went into the film not knowing what I was going to experience. I apologize if there are any errors or if I described any part of the film wrong.
*Special thanks to my friend for sending me the event info for this. I really enjoyed my time in D.C. with my dad that day.
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