VIDEO [CC] -
Fund This Film: Deaf Filmmaker’s ‘Jester’ Is Inspired By His Experience Hearing Music For the First Time.
Jester is a film based on my experience growing up in a silent world and hearing music for the first time at 23 years old.
This is a semi-autobiographical journey through the highs and lows of growing up in a silent world.
Picasso famously said that 'Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.' This was the guiding philosophy behind my short film 'Eleven Eleven' and now Jester... Picasso often painted and
sculpted jesters throughout his career. My favorite
work by him served as a major inspiration for this feature.
The short film (Eleven Eleven) became a catalyst for Jester, which builds on that world and covers the broader strokes of my life's defining moments. It is a comedy and tragedy. (both the short and feature).
My friends suggested I
write about my first exposure to music and I ended up posting my story to
reddit.com where it received over
14 thousand responses from some really amazing people who introduced me to the beautiful world of sound.
The film's main language is spoken english but with a healthy dose of
American Sign Language. As in the indro video above, my character signs and talks at the same time. My best friend in the film only signs so the whole film will be subtitled in english. (Hopefully other languages too)
I know it's a bit unorthodox to have subtitles burned into the film rather than have them available as an option but this film wouldn't be authentic if I ignored the beautiful American Sign Language. Very few films use
sign language and I would be proud to add Jester to that collection.
I've been actively working on this screenplay my whole life and have finally finished a draft ready for production.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/607852630/jester As most websites do, we here at
FSR get tons of emails from people trying to sell us on something, and a large number of them start off with the writer claiming to be a huge fan of the site for a long time. But usually you can tell that it’s b.s. The one I got from Austin Chapman last week, though, was genuine. The guy has indeed been reading us for years, and I can find his comments to prove it. That sincerity makes me want to support his dream and goal to make a feature film even more. It also translates to his filmmaking, which has the sort of heart, passion and beauty that can only come from someone with great honesty and care. He’s also been shooting movies since he was a little kid, so the experience of doing this for a while helps, too. The new project will be his first feature, and it’s called Jester.
I should point out that Chapman is profoundly
Deaf, because that’s not only why he’s been getting some media coverage about his crowdfunding effort but it’s also something that informs this film. Jester will be sort of an extended remake of his 2011 short Eleven Eleven (pictured above), in which he starred in a semi-autobiographical story of a young Deaf man falling in love. (You should watch that 13-minute work, which I’m not alone in saying has a sort of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind tone, here.) Since that film was made Chapman got new hearing aids that allowed him to hear music for the first time, understandably changing his life very dramatically. Especially as an artist. The feature version will apparently incorporate that new experience. ... Read more:
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/fund-this-film-deaf-filmmakers-jester-is-inspired-by-his-experience-hearing-music-for-the-first-time.phphttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/607852630/jesterOfficial Selection in Newport Film Festival 2011
http://artofthestory.com
Very special interview with a wonderful amazing lady in American Sign Language by Shelly Hansen. Agatha Chizek share stories including pictures about her life experiences over the years.
