Mirana Medina is both an advocate and an artist. Her 2006
film, Alyana: A Study of Autism in the Philippines, has been viewed all
over the Philippines. Her upcoming movie is the first feature-length documentary
film on Filipino deaf culture. Silent Odyssey: A Journey into the Deaf
World premiered September 20, 2008 at the University of the Philippines
Film Center Theater.
“I have to admit that many issues tackled in the film were
new to me,” reporter Fujioka Junkichi said after viewing the piece. "So, in that
sense, the film has accomplished its purpose of introducing what is happening in
the deaf community in the Philippines . . .”
The film chronicles a variety of issues, including the
sentiments of Filipinos with hearing impairments towards hearing society and the
pioneering efforts of significant members of Filipino deaf history. It also
touches on important and current issues surrounding deaf education in the
country.
Silent Odyssey features more than 40 members of the
Filipino deaf community, including educators, missionaries, and service
providers and also boasts special participation by Markku Jokinen, president of
the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD).
“I want to tell deaf Filipinos not to forget that being deaf
does not mean being worthless,” Jokinen says in the film. “Being deaf means
being the best. Remember that your Filipino identity means being the best.
Respect yourself. Be proud. And live as equals with others in the world.”
The film also delves into Jokinen’s views on oralism, the use
of hearing aids and the importance of sign language. According to the Website
dedicated to the film, it “takes a close look at the Filipino Sign Language
(FSL)—its probable origin, uniqueness, present status vis-à-vis other sign
systems, and its importance as index to the cultural identity of the Filipino
deaf as a cultural-linguistic minority group.”
Filmmaker Medina enrolled in the Filipino Sign Language
Learning Program (FSLLP) at the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies
(SDEAS) in preparation for the making of the film. “Society is not limited to
us, hearing people; deaf individuals are a part of our lives. Our community and
our society are one and the same. Even if deaf culture, values, and beliefs
differ from ours, it is but proper for us to respect their own, in much the same
way that we respect other cultural minority groups,” she commented after the
experience.
The Journey into the Deaf World that Medina takes
audiences on may lead most to the realization that the deaf are disabled and
impaired not by their lack of hearing but by society’s failure to understand and
accept their language and culture.
“Silent Odyssey is simply unbelievable in its
quality and unmatched expressiveness in outlining the life struggles of the deaf
and the deaf history in the Philippines. Mirana Medina’s excellent film will
capture the heart of every movie watcher as it celebrates the expressiveness of
language without a voice,” journalist Raphael Torralba’s review of the film
reads.
Silent Odyssey: A Journey into the Deaf World (109
minutes, subtitles in English) is a production of Miryad Visyon in cooperation
with the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and Lingap-Pangarap
Foundation, Inc.
