Audible

This is a engaging short doc that follows Deaf football players in senior year of high school. It manages to hit a lot of common experience-lost, grief, young love, etc.-quickly and elegantly. The Deaf experience isn't otherized or looked down on. This was fully engaging the entire runtime. This is full of life and pathos.

Audible (2021) is a documentary about life at Maryland School for the Deaf, specifically their football team, after suffering a tragic loss. This was a great and insightful little documentary. It was so important and I'm glad these people's stories were told.

The cinematography was beautiful which I never really expect from a documentary as it's usually not needed, but there were some gorgeous shots that added to the experience of watching! The colour palettes were great, and helped the film be very visually pleasing.

The sound design was used very well and in a smart way. I liked that the film didn't use much sound or dialogue at all, it felt a lot more inclusive to those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The documentary introduced us to the people involved and their lives very well, and we got an insightful look into the struggles they have faced. Amaree seemed like a lovely person, I was happy to learn his story. It showed the relationships between those at the school, and I thought that was really beautiful.

The film was consistently interesting, with good pacing that flowed well. It was super educational and tackles a lot of sensitive issues well and with respect. The ending was incredibly touching, and left me wanting to know more about this school and the pupils.

Competing for the Oscars 2022 in the short film documentary category, it is directed by Matthew Ogens.

The film follows Amaree, a teenager who plays on an American football team. The difference is that he is deaf, as well as the coach and all the team members. The team competes for the national championship, playing and beating teams with hearing players. A defeat, after more than 40 victories in a row, made the whole team unite even more towards the common goal, which was to overcome that obstacle and win the championship.

Director Ogens intersperses moments of the team with interviews with some players, among them Amaree, with the adoptive parents of a player who committed suicide at age 15 due to bullying he suffered at the listening school, and with members of the cheerleaders, among them a gay teenager, Amaree's friend, whose first love was just the boy who killed himself.

Although it's a documentary, in the moments when the players are in the locker room or on the field, the scenes felt rehearsed, scripted, not spontaneous. It was as if the director were directing a fiction.

This lack of spontaneity in the teams' scenes is a point that leaves the documentary without life, it doesn't take off, staying in the same way until its conclusion.

The coach's testimony, at the end, is very interesting, as he says that together, the boys overcame the challenges and obstacles of a deaf person on the football field, but he was sure they would face greater obstacles and prejudices when they left that bubble.

I don't really understand why it's a short and not just a full on documentary. There is so much that could have been explored deeper and better, but because if the runtime kinda feels cropped up. The subject itself is very good. I like the way they do the interviews and let us into the mind of the deaf players, but again, that could and should have been explored a lot more. The subject and goal are very interesting and cool to look at, but the execution is poor on this one. It's a shame, because it does have its moments.

A beautiful short documentary, necessary and inclusive, I have the impression that I already knew the story of Terry, hearing impaired who was bullied and committed suicide, despite this tragic fact the documentary of a very beautiful message of overcoming, inclusion and respect, good terms contact with these special realities, which should be everyday, good to be in notoriety, in front of the Oscars, it was not a winner, but I found it perfect, moving and inspiring...