Just Deaf is a documentary about two 12 year old boys: Jascha who is deaf, and his hearing friend Benjamin. Part of the week they are together in the last class of a regular primary school. The rest of the week Jascha attends a special school for deaf children. Just Deaf shows how Jascha moves around in two worlds, hearing and deaf. From Benjamin we learn how he experiences Jascha's deafness. The documentary poses questions about the interactions between hearing and deaf people, between two languages and two cultures. Can hearing and deaf people ever really understand each other? Is integration possible and is it desirable?
This documentary was made possible through the financial support of The Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences, RVU educatieve omroep, Nationaal Revalidatiefonds, Nederlandse Stichting voor het Gehandicapte Kind, Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland, VSB Fonds, Famliiefonas van Dusseldorp, Stichting Fonds voor het Dove en Slechthorende Kind, and M.A.O.C. Gravin van Bylandt Stichting.
The film is bilingual: Dutch and Dutch Sign Language with English subtitles.
Length: 40 minutes
Director: Leendert Pot, camera: Brigit Hillenius, sound: Fokke van Saanen, editing: Marina Bodbijl, sound editing and mix: Michel Schöpping, production: Anja Hiddinga & Ange Wieberdink for ZieZo Foundation.
2000, ZieZo Foundation
information: ZieZo Foundation
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