Diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural progressive hearing loss in the first grade, Charo became fully deaf by the age of 23, and received a cochlear implant against her parents’ wishes. Structured with eight distinct stories and questions, Mato’s autobiographical documentary flits between childhood stories and digressive memories, the scientific and medical explanations of hearing loss and implants, and poetic ruminations on the nature of life and language. Mato uses the film to process her own experience, interweaving home videos of her childhood with the stories and lives of people she’s interviewing for the film, and exploring the stories and lives of the d/Deaf and hard of hearing while resisting a monolithic experience. A beautiful, highly personal film processing and celebrating the experiences of those with hearing loss.
Eight Stories About My Hearing Loss
- When I became deaf at the age of 23, I decided to get a cochlear implant. As I began to regain my memories of lost sounds, I asked myself: How does someone who doesn't hear listen?
CREDITS
DIRECTOR(S): Charo Mato
PRODUCER(S): Charo Mato, Eugenia Olascuaga & Valentina Baracco