FAMILY TIES
When: April 11, 2026 | 12:30 - 2 PM
Runtime: 84 minutes
These six eclectic films all center around family relationships, all complicated in their own way, featuring stories that vary in tone from comic to heartwarming to jarringly serious.
Program Lineup:
DINNER TABLE SYNDROME
HEALING HANDS
MY DEAF PAPA
TALK
I SEE A VOICE
IDLE HANDS
ID: Film poster for “Dinner Table Syndrome” with the title in white on the bottom. Above is a bird’s eye view of a fully occupied dinner table with images of mouths where people would normally sit. Text on top: “Angry Deaf People presents”. Text credits on the sides.
DINNER TABLE SYNDROME
Narrative Short | United States | 12 minutes | American Sign Language
Director: Charlie Ainsworth
A lonely Deaf boy has cochlear implants, but that doesn’t fix the barriers he must navigate at Thanksgiving dinner with a family that may as well be strangers to him.
Content warnings: Audism
ID: Film poster for “Healing Hands”, with three images stacked on each other with the title between the top and middle image, and a subtitle between the center and bottom: “written and directed by Jordan Ochel”. Images from top to bottom: a boy looking up to an adult; a child’s hand outstretched; two adults standing behind a seated child. Colorful handprints dot the sides.
HEALING HANDS
Narrative Short | United States | 28 Minutes | American Sign Language & English
Director: Jordan Ochel
When young Jonah is taken to a faith healer to cure his Deafness, his parents must face a new reality. Featuring Sandra Mae Frank in a supporting role.
Content warnings: Outdated language and terms
ID: Film poster for “My Deaf Papa” with the title in the original language above. A row of film award mentions is at the top of an image of an elderly man, with an image of a child overlaying the neck area. Behind them is an abstract art of city buildings.
MY DEAF PAPA
Narrative Short | Hong Kong | 20 Minutes | Chinese Sign Language
Director: Anthony Cheung
Wyatt is a Deaf man who works hard and enjoys a close relationship with his hearing daughter, Allison. However, when Allison starts posting popular YouTube videos teaching sign language, it sparks an unexpected family storm.
Content warnings: None
ID: Film poster for “Talk” with the title on the top left corner with subtitle: short film by Jessica Perlman. An image of a man’s face looking off to the side.
TALK
Narrative Short | United States | 2 Minutes | American Sign Language & English
Director: Jessica Perlman
When a Deaf man needs his air conditioning fixed, his CODA daughter plays referee when a repairman comes to the house to offer an estimate.
Content warnings: Outdated derogatory language
ID: Film poster for “I See a Voice”, with the title overlaying the image below, of a person hugging another person. Behind them is a river with a city bridge and buildings behind them. A row of names is across the top: Lisa Kelly, Emma Barrow, Keira O’Connell, Steven White. Subtitle below the title: “A film by Leah Egan”. Text block of credits across the bottom.
I SEE A VOICE
Narrative Short | Ireland | 13 Minutes | Irish Sign Language & English
Director: Legan Egan
A Deaf woman struggles in the aftermath of her father's passing. Friendship, an unexpected turn of events and a simple moment of connection are her salvation.
Content warnings: Profanity, Death
ID: Film poster for “Idle Hands”, with the title on right side center with a stack of award mentions grouped below and text credits on the bottom. The poster consists of three ripped images overlapping each other, with an older woman on top, a younger man in between with eyes only showing, and a face of a man on the bottom. More award mentions are stacked on top left corner.
IDLE HANDS
Narrative Short | United States | 22 Minutes | American Sign Language
Director: Douglas Ridloff
During a reluctant visit to his mother’s house with his son, a Deaf father (played by James Caverly) must confront a toxic family dynamic and find a better way forward for their future.
Content warnings: Profanity, Audism, Language deprivation