Sign on Screen Festival: Deaf Creatives: Pathways to Deaf-Led Narratives
Sun
24
Sun 24 May 10:00 AM
Arc Cinema
General Admission
60 Mins | Sign on Screen Film Festival
May
Presented by Sofya Gollan
Moderated by Sam Martin
How are Deaf languages and voices shaped, framed, or limited in film and television when Deaf filmmakers have been systemically barred from the creative engine room? What does Deaf-led agency look like, and what do we need to do to increase Deaf presence on and behind the camera?
Presenter Sofya Gollan
Multi-disciplinary artist, writer and director Sofya Gollan is an award-winning filmmaker and a graduate from NIDA and AFTRS. She is currently completing her PhD at the ANU investigating representations of sign language and Deaf characters on contemporary screens. Her research integrates Deaf Critical Theory with Film Studies to examine how hearing filmmakers deploy silence alongside sign languages as narrative devices to present Deaf characters as silence. As an actor she has worked with the Sydney Theatre Company, the National Theatre of the Deaf USA and ABC TV drama. Gollan is best loved for being a Deaf presenter on Play School and is currently the Studio Director for a Play School series in 2026. As a filmmaker she has been nominated for four AACTA Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Short Film, all of which have screened and broadcast internationally. Imagined Touch screened at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in NYC and Melbourne’s ACMI in 2023 and was nominated for Director of Best Short Documentary from the Australian Directors Guild and won an Australian Writer’s Guild Award for Best Screenplay for Documentary in 2024.
Moderator Sam Martin
Sam Martin (he/him) is an award-winning filmmaker, creative producer, researcher and consultant. He is a graduate of AFTRS and is currently completing a PhD at the ANU examining the socio-political power of Deaf-led documentary filmmaking. His work includes directing, co-producing and co-editing Signs of Success for Deaf Connect, and films Deafying Gravity (ABC) and A Style for Every Story (SBS). In 2024, he trained as an Access Coordinator through Bridge06 and has worked on Apple TV’s The Dispatcher and SBS Digital Original Miss Sultanah.
Sign On Screen Festival runs from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 May. All events are free. Registration is essential for individual sessions or for a Saturday and/or Sunday day pass.
Accessibility
Arc Cinema is equipped with hearing loop capability.
All workshop and panel events will be Auslan<>English interpreted and all screenings will feature English-language SDH captions.
Dom's deli and bar is available onsite for all your food and beverage needs.
Sign On Screen is a collaboration between the Australian National University, Deaf Connect, the Australian Research Council and the NFSA.
Moderated by Sam Martin
How are Deaf languages and voices shaped, framed, or limited in film and television when Deaf filmmakers have been systemically barred from the creative engine room? What does Deaf-led agency look like, and what do we need to do to increase Deaf presence on and behind the camera?
Presenter Sofya Gollan
Multi-disciplinary artist, writer and director Sofya Gollan is an award-winning filmmaker and a graduate from NIDA and AFTRS. She is currently completing her PhD at the ANU investigating representations of sign language and Deaf characters on contemporary screens. Her research integrates Deaf Critical Theory with Film Studies to examine how hearing filmmakers deploy silence alongside sign languages as narrative devices to present Deaf characters as silence. As an actor she has worked with the Sydney Theatre Company, the National Theatre of the Deaf USA and ABC TV drama. Gollan is best loved for being a Deaf presenter on Play School and is currently the Studio Director for a Play School series in 2026. As a filmmaker she has been nominated for four AACTA Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Short Film, all of which have screened and broadcast internationally. Imagined Touch screened at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in NYC and Melbourne’s ACMI in 2023 and was nominated for Director of Best Short Documentary from the Australian Directors Guild and won an Australian Writer’s Guild Award for Best Screenplay for Documentary in 2024. Moderator Sam Martin
Sam Martin (he/him) is an award-winning filmmaker, creative producer, researcher and consultant. He is a graduate of AFTRS and is currently completing a PhD at the ANU examining the socio-political power of Deaf-led documentary filmmaking. His work includes directing, co-producing and co-editing Signs of Success for Deaf Connect, and films Deafying Gravity (ABC) and A Style for Every Story (SBS). In 2024, he trained as an Access Coordinator through Bridge06 and has worked on Apple TV’s The Dispatcher and SBS Digital Original Miss Sultanah.Sign On Screen Festival runs from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 May. All events are free. Registration is essential for individual sessions or for a Saturday and/or Sunday day pass.
Accessibility
Arc Cinema is equipped with hearing loop capability.
All workshop and panel events will be Auslan<>English interpreted and all screenings will feature English-language SDH captions.
Dom's deli and bar is available onsite for all your food and beverage needs.
Sign On Screen is a collaboration between the Australian National University, Deaf Connect, the Australian Research Council and the NFSA.
May
Price

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