Synopsis
Nurith Aviv ventures into the little-known world of sign languages. There are diverse languages, each with its own rich, complex grammar and syntax. Three generations of protagonists, both deaf and hearing, along with scientists from Haifa University’s Sign Language Research Lab discuss the languages that emerged in Israel last century. An invitation to broaden our perception of human languages.
A word from Tënk
In Nurith Aviv’s work, languages represent a personal and cinematographic field of research. With Signing, a generous and rigorous documentary, she takes us on a fascinating journey to the heart of sign languages. The choice of this journey is far from trivial as it involves a displacement through which the director leads us in our perception and conception of language. We travel across Israel meeting several generations for whom questions of translation merge with those of transmission. The lively silence speaks in Signing, compelling us to observe faces and gestures. We watch in order to listen differently. We literally experience, elatedly and physically, the extraordinary complexity of language development that depends on vernacular necessities and conventions, and national as well as personal histories.
Claire Lasolle
Programmer
