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Sign on Screen Festival: Retreat
Sat
23
Sat 23 May 2:00 PM
Arc Cinema
Hearing Loop
Allocated Seating
Unclassified 18+
107 Mins | Sign on Screen Film Festival May
2025 | DCP | UK | D: Ted Evans
British Sign Language, German Sign Language, English subtitles
In an isolated Deaf Community, Matt's (James Joseph Boyle) idyllic world cracks when Eva (Anne Zander) arrives, making him question his identity and the cost of maintaining his supposedly utopian society.
Described as the world’s first Deaf thriller, Retreat opens with a stark montage revealing the horrors once faced by deaf children in a supposedly more “enlightened” era.
The film follows deaf students in Chilmark, a community for deaf people who choose to live separately from the hearing world.
Observational and unforced, the film listens closely to moments of stillness and self-questioning. Featuring a soundscape in which noise and silence carry equal weight, Retreat offers a quiet study of vulnerability, intention and the human need for pause.
‘A film that finds drama in reflection rather than action.’ - Luke Buckmaster, The Guardian Australia
Sign On Screen Festival runs from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 May. Registration is essential. Register for individual sessions or for a Saturday and/or Sunday Day Pass.
All events are FREE and presented in the NFSA's beautiful art deco Arc Cinema 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.
British Sign Language, German Sign Language, English subtitles
In an isolated Deaf Community, Matt's (James Joseph Boyle) idyllic world cracks when Eva (Anne Zander) arrives, making him question his identity and the cost of maintaining his supposedly utopian society.
Described as the world’s first Deaf thriller, Retreat opens with a stark montage revealing the horrors once faced by deaf children in a supposedly more “enlightened” era.
The film follows deaf students in Chilmark, a community for deaf people who choose to live separately from the hearing world.
Observational and unforced, the film listens closely to moments of stillness and self-questioning. Featuring a soundscape in which noise and silence carry equal weight, Retreat offers a quiet study of vulnerability, intention and the human need for pause.
‘A film that finds drama in reflection rather than action.’ - Luke Buckmaster, The Guardian Australia
Sign On Screen Festival runs from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 May. Registration is essential. Register for individual sessions or for a Saturday and/or Sunday Day Pass.
All events are FREE and presented in the NFSA's beautiful art deco Arc Cinema 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