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The Dance of Words

2014 44 min
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Over 200,000 people in Canada are deaf. For deaf francophones, Quebec Sign Language is essential to both their identity and their connection to the deaf community. In the past decades, parents and doctors have pushed for hearing aids, cochlear implants and a mainstream education for deaf kids. Yet this thrust into the hearing world has come at a price for some deaf students, who may have trouble following classroom activities and end up being marginalized. The Dance of Words features young artists who have embraced their deaf identity in adulthood after spending a difficult childhood in the grey zone between …

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The Dance of Words

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Over 200,000 people in Canada are deaf. For deaf francophones, Quebec Sign Language is essential to both their identity and their connection to the deaf community. In the past decades, parents and doctors have pushed for hearing aids, cochlear implants and a mainstream education for deaf kids. Yet this thrust into the hearing world has come at a price for some deaf students, who may have trouble following classroom activities and end up being marginalized.



The Dance of Words features young artists who have embraced their deaf identity in adulthood after spending a difficult childhood in the grey zone between hearing culture and deaf culture. These emerging artists show how they are using the arts to build a deaf culture that makes them proud. They shine a spotlight on their community while promoting and advancing deaf culture with a keen sensitivity.

  • writing
    Yves Étienne Massicotte
  • research
    Yves Étienne Massicotte
    Doris Lapierre
    Chantal Deguire
  • direction
    Yves Étienne Massicotte
  • camera
    François Vincelette
    Jean-Pierre St-Louis
    Carl Elster
  • sound
    Mélanie Gauthier
    Olivier Léger
  • editing
    Louise Côté
  • original music
    Daniel Toussaint
  • still photography
    François Vincelette
  • camera assistant
    Frédérique Vincelette
  • production manager
    Doris Lapierre
  • interpreter
    Benoît Belec
    René Blanchet
    Josée-Sarah Bower
    Hélène Brisebois
    Rosie-Anne Brisebois-Dubé
    Nathalie Desbois
    Lyne Gargano
    Thierry Labonté
    Denise Lefebvre
    Chantal Léonard
    Marie-Lyne Petit
    Lise St-Louis
    Nicholas Watson
  • assistant editor
    Emmanuel Albano
    Christopher Logan
    Amanda Terfloth
  • visual effects
    Jeff Ridout
  • sound design
    Daniel Toussaint
  • sound editing
    Daniel Toussaint
  • foley
    Lise Wedlock
  • voice recording
    Geoffrey Mitchell
  • foley recording
    Geoffrey Mitchell
  • musician
    Daniel Toussaint
    Michel Ouellet
  • voice-over
    Kyle Gatehouse
    Mary Wall
  • titles in Quebec signed language
    Chantal Deguire
  • online editing
    Denis Pilon
  • computer graphics
    Mélanie Bouchard
  • titles
    Mélanie Bouchard
  • mix
    Serge Boivin
  • marketing manager
    Geneviève Bérard
  • administrator
    Geneviève Duguay
    Alexandrine Torres de Figueiredo
  • administrative assistant
    Vanessa Emam
    Ai Rei Dooh-Tousignant
  • technical coordinator
    Daniel Claveau
    Steve Hallé
    Mira Mailhot
  • technical support
    Pierre Dupont
    Marcus Matyas
    Isabelle Painchaud
    Patrick Trahan
  • legal advisor
    Christian Pitchen
  • producer
    Anne-Marie Rocher
    Dominic Desjardins
  • executive producer
    Jacques Turgeon
    Dominic Desjardins

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Education

Ages 10 to 17
School subjects

Although deafness is often seen as a handicap, the people in this film prove that it can be an asset. Ask your students to analyze the film in this vein, to question how differences are viewed in their own community, and to explore the world of deaf people through their language and culture. What suggestions do your students have to better integrate the deaf and improve dialogue and sharing?

The Dance of Words
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