Miriam Garlo i Álvaro Cervantes: "Seeing an entire theater applauding in sign language is very moving."

BarcelonaPowered by the recent success at the Malaga Festival and his passage through the Berlinale, Deaf arrives in theaters this Friday, already becoming one of the films of the year. Eva Libertad portrays a beautiful love story, which transforms when the couple decides to have a child. The fact that she is deaf and he is hearing—extraordinary Miriam Garlo and Álvaro Cervantes, award-winners in Málaga—conditions everything: the reaction of the grandparents, friends, even the doctors, and once again places the protagonist in the eternal struggle against society's barriers. How will the parents communicate with their daughter? The director manages to convey the feeling of vulnerability through the screen in the most tense situations—such as the birth scene—and with some surprising sound effects. Miriam Garlo, the director's sister, is the first deaf actress to star in a Spanish film and Deaf It's the first film in the state to be fully accessible to the deaf. We conducted the interview with the help of a sign language interpreter to sign my questions; although Garlo reads lips and speaks perfectly, he always signs his answers.

The title, Deaf, is very direct. At a time when hitherto silenced characters and realities are coming to cinema, was it time for deafness to come out of the closet?

— Miriam Garlo: Yes. The current situation of the deaf community in Spain is still one of significant discrimination, significant backwardness, and a significant lack of accessibility. The idea that deaf people are invisible has become normalized, and we must work to make it invisible. We hope this film helps, and we begin to make decisions to change the situation. The title is very important. It's in capital letters, big and bold, because historically we've been called "deaf" in a negative way, and in this film, we reclaim the word, which had a pejorative perspective, and place it in a place of empowerment.

The main couple is made up of a deaf woman and a hearing man. In the film, her parents seem happy to have found a hearing boyfriend. Do they consider it a success?

— MG: I don't see it as a success, but rather they feel the need to have control over the bond with their daughter. You want the son-in-law to be a hearing person because you are a hearing person, and the trust will be stronger. If the partner is also deaf, they can create their own private world where your inclusion as a parent may be more difficult, and the person who will struggle the most is you as a hearing person.

The heart of the film is the moment the creature appears. What should have been a path of happiness is instead one of anguish, because the underlying question is always whether he'll be a listener or not.

— MG: For Angela, the concern is that the child is healthy. Whether the child is deaf or hearing isn't a problem. But of course, what any mother wants is a strong and consolidated bond with her child. Therefore, it's up to the reader to see what will happen and how both the mother and father will react.

— Álvaro Cervantes: Hector is obviously afraid that his daughter is deaf, but on the other hand, he also accepts it. Just as the couple works, if they have a deaf daughter, they will do everything possible to ensure her well-being and happiness.

At that moment, does something break?

— A.C.: The turbulence that may come is beginning to become apparent, because until then they had remained in a bubble of perfect harmony. Individuality begins to emerge.

— MG: Nothing is broken, but the situation does cause a bit of a disconnect between the two characters. As in any couple, this can happen and the situation can be different. A couple of consolidated, strong love requires a lot of constant care and a lot of patience. feedback for understanding each other at all times.

Expectant grandparents see pregnancy as a problem. Should deaf people always struggle with paternalism?

— MG: Every day, all the time. We must always adapt to society and understand the situation of others. We occupy the place society tells us we belong to, which is always a little behind, at the back of the queue.

Angela sees that the trauma of the communication difficulties she endures with her mother could be repeated.

— MG: Yes, that trauma is there, it's inevitable that she has it, and she doesn't want it to happen again with her child. But what hurts Angela is that, once again, she has to deal with the situation of facing a hearing society that keeps telling her "you're not a good mother because you're deaf," and places her in a situation of poverty, ofoh, what a shameAll of this has caused her a lot of pain.

Why are parents obsessed with hearing aids?

— MG: It's a situation that occurs and, in my opinion, is related to a lack of information. Hearing aids are generally recommended to make your life easier and help you, and that's it: there's a solution because we believe there's a problem and that it can be avoided. But that's not the case. Every deaf person is unique and has their own unique deafness. Technology doesn't work equally for everyone; some find hearing aids painful or uncomfortable; others prefer to have an implant; some of us don't have anything because technology can't help us and we prefer to be free. Everything is respectable and everything is understandable based on tolerance. In the film, the parents don't know much; they don't know their daughter as well as they thought, and they believe the hearing aid puts an end to the problem.

In his personal case, he stopped hearing at the age of seven and...

— MG: At two years old, she lost her hearing, and that means she's still prelinguistic; she doesn't have a built-in Spanish. That's why her diction is very different from mine. Libertad and I thought about it a lot, to distance ourselves from it and show that deaf actresses do character development work, just like our hearing colleagues. Because it's questionable: when people see a disability in movies, they think we're not acting. And that's not the case; there's a lot of work here, for example, to find that voice.

He started signing at age thirty. Why so late?

— MG: Each situation is completely different. In my case, my family did the best they could, but they lacked a lot of information, that's what they were advised. The priority was for me to get an education, to study and earn a degree, to develop academically. Personal aspects, self-esteem, those little things that are so important, didn't take priority. Until I was 30, when I considered my educational period over, I didn't come into contact with sign language or the deaf community. This is where a second life begins for me.

In the film, sign language is also a great act of love.

— MG: Yes, he learns sign language and adapts out of love. And she chooses him because of that job and the commitment to the relationship. But we're also used to the woman making this journey, adapting, and we don't put her on an altar. When it's a man, it seems...

...like a martyr or a saint.

— A.C.: I think Hector does everything he does out of love, and when you do something out of love, it doesn't feel like a sacrifice. Breaking down communication barriers shouldn't be seen as a sacrifice. In any case, if it's seen that way, it's because hearing people have never been in the shoes of a deaf person. Even before filming, I realized that no matter how much a hearing person adapts to a deaf person, the deaf person will always make an extra effort. The extra effort is implicit in every moment of their lives because the world is designed for hearing people. That's why I think that if Hector does everything he does, it's so that the mixed-race couple can exist. Otherwise, it would be impossible. It's good to create male role models in cinema who are in touch with caregiving.

A deaf person only stops being deaf when he or she is with his or her deaf friends, right?

— MG: Yes, that's why we say that deafness is really a social disability, because deaf people aren't sick, we don't have any real problems, it's just that we don't hear. But the real problem is the communication barriers and the relationship with hearing people, who see us as different, which generates discrimination in certain situations.

How was the adaptation to filming and the approach of the acting couple?

— MG: Eva Libertad and I grew up together and shared our entire lives; therefore, we learned together about accessibility. Before filming, she prepared a document in which she explained to the entire crew, with whom we would be working, all the concepts of deafness, what sign language is, what communication is, the entire history of the deaf community, and our values. She also offered a basic sign language workshop. This made life much easier for me and all the deaf colleagues who appear in the film. And Álvaro and I had a year to spend a lot of time together, to spend time together, share our intimate experiences, and get to know each other deeply. This has facilitated the relationship's natural chemistry and made it seem real, because we have a beautiful relationship of love and friendship, and through working together we've changed a little, and that's it.

— A.C.: This information about the communication needs of a mixed-race couple came to me during the camera test, because we're doing an improvisation in which the characters wake up the morning after their first night together, and Miriam, playing Angela, already begins to introduce me to the world of introductions. For example, positioning yourself clearly for lip reading, trying to keep your mustache from obscuring your mouth, were very enlightening things.

And also learn sign language.

— A.C.: For me, it was essential to learn, to become fluent, to be able to improvise at times, and to be able to communicate with my deaf teammates. I had a year before filming began. I was also able to immerse myself a little in the deaf community, which welcomed me with open arms, and I am very grateful.

How have you experienced the impact the film has already had?

— A.C.: We're so excited by all the love we're receiving. The film was made with so much love, and during the discussions we felt so much gratitude from both the deaf and hearing audiences. We're overwhelmed with emotion.

— MG: Yes, we're experiencing very moving situations, images that will stay with us forever. In Malaga, seeing an entire theater with deaf and hearing people in the room—this was already a dream—applauding in sign language is very moving. These are things that need to be normalized. I hope this film has helped a little and sparks some progress for the deaf community and for the world in general, because it's needed.