Framed by an inexplicable series of tuba thefts from Los Angeles schools in the early 2010s, d/Deaf artist and filmmaker Alison O’Daniel’s debut feature film uses the instrument’s absence from these bands to explore what it means to listen. Featuring Deaf collaborators such as artist Christine Sun Kim and Nyke Prince, who portrays a deaf drummer in the film, the film threads together re-enactments of historical moments where audiences experienced music through inaudible frequencies. These include the premiere of John Cage’s 4’33’, the final punk show at San Francisco’s Deaf Club, and Prince’s surprise Purple Rain tour show at the Deaf university Gallaudet in Washington, DC. Creating a cinematic language that centers deafness in a world of audism, O’Daniel retunes the sounds of d/Deaf cinema and how it is experienced.

Heavy Air

At entry, guests will be offered inflated balloons to feel the vibrations of the soundtrack and access the film with heightened sonic and tactile sensitivities. O’Daniel refers to this practice as “Heavy Air,” which pays homage to the Deaf clubs that invited d/Deaf community members to experience films together in this way.