Eyes to hear, hands to speak
2001
Motion Picture
90 Min
A deaf nun Antonia falls in love with the deaf pickpocket Mikas. While for Mikas the story ends in death, it is the begin of a new live for Antionia.
In order to be able to do her work in a centre for the homeless, Antonia (27), a deaf nun, has to make the daily journey from her convent to the city by train. She encounters Mikas (30). A new exciting world opens up for Antonia because, like herself, Mikas is also deaf. These two people, so different from each other, are able to converse in their common language – sign language. Antonia and Mikas fall in love. However, what Antonia is not aware of is that Mikas is only pretending to be acircus artiste and has in fact come to Switzerland to make some ready cash as a pickpocket. A victim of his pickpocketing catches Mikas red-handed. In his attempt to escape, Mikas loses his life. Antonia is confused and disconsolate. What she went through with Mikas has had a deep effect on her and she now has the feeling that the world has once and for all opened up for her too. She resolves to start a new life and goes off to Washington DC to study at the Gallaudet University for the Deaf.
Emanuelle Laborit
Lars Otterstedt
Renate Becker
Wolfram Berger
Renate Steiger
Yevgeni Sitokin
Director
Christoph Schaub
Producer
Marce Hoehn, TC Film
Writer
Peter Purtschert,
Christoph Schaub
Cinematographer
Thomas Hardmeier
Editor
Fee Liechti
Production Management
Bianca Verguth
Productions Design
Monica Bregger
Costume Design
Dorothee Schmid
Location Sound
Bela Golya
Music Composer
Antoine Auberson
Sound Editor
Peter Bräker
Festival des films du monde Montréal, Quebec
Festival de Cine Iberoamericano Huelva, Spain
International Festival Hof, Germany
Vancouver Int. Film Festival, Canada
Nortel Palm Springs Int. Film Festival, USA
Film-Art Festival Schwerin, Germany
Bratislava International Film Festival, Slovakia
Festival internazionale del film Locarno, Switzerland
Istanbul Film Festival, Turkey
Minneapolis/St. Paul IFF, USA
Mons International Love Film Festival, Belgium
Festival Max Ophüls Award Saarbrücken, Germany
Solothurn Film Festival, Switzerland
Swiss Film Award: Nomination for best Fiction
Moskaw Festival of Independant Films: Award for best Script