Marlee Matlin’s Moment

The capacity audience in New York City rose for a standing ovation, honoring the documentary they had just viewed—and using the ASL symbol for applause. The film’s subject, actress/writer Marlee Matlin, and its director, Shoshannah Stern, were in attendance, and as both women are deaf, the crowd recognized them inclusively.

When Matlin was approached by one of the film’s production teams, she explained, “they said they wanted to make a movie about my life. I said, ‘Fine, but it has to be directed by a deaf woman.’” She recommended Stern: “I know her as an actor and a dear friend. I knew someday she would direct.” 

“It wasn’t easy for me to be so open,” said Matlin, 59, of the film—Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore—during a panel following the screening, which took place at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 9^th and marked the film’s New York premiere. But she noted that Stern, 44, an actress making her directorial debut, “made sure I would be in a safe space in the interviews. I knew she would handle it in the right way.” 

The movie will screen at Tribeca through tonight, Thursday June 12^th, and then move to theaters on June 20^th; streaming options will follow later in the year. 

The film’s narrative begins with Matlin’s childhood, in the Chicago suburb Morton Grove. Her parents, Libby and Donald, doted on Matlin and her two older brothers; but when Matlin became deaf at 18 months old, the dynamic shifted. The family was told that a virus and a high fever in her early childhood might have contributed to Matlin’s disability. Her parents struggled with guilt over these circumstances; and this, Matlin recounts, stood in the way of their fully supporting her as a deaf person. They did not learn fluent sign language—which Matlin admits was personally painful, as well as challenging in practical ways. 

Matlin’s acting dreams started early. When she was 12, she and her school reached out to one of her favorite TV stars: Henry Winkler. They asked him to come to the school’s variety show, in which Matlin was performing. Astonishingly, he was able to attend. Winkler says in the film that Matlin’s mother asked him to advise the girl to choose a different path. But he’d been impressed by Matlin’s performance, believed she had real ability, and declined to discourage her (“You’ve got the wrong guy,” he recalls responding)—stepping in to become a mentor instead. Winkler and Matlin are close friends to this day. Later in the film, we see footage of Matlin’s beautiful, family-oriented, and heimish Jewish wedding—hosted with love by Winkler and his wife, Stacey Weitzman, in their backyard. 

Matlin won an Oscar for Best Actress, in 1987, for Children of a Lesser God. She was 21—and the first deaf actor to win the award. But her triumph was bittersweet. She’d entered an unhealthy romantic relationship with her costar, William Hurt, during the film’s production; and had fallen deeper into a drug habit that had started in her teens. When Hurt entered rehab for his own addictions, Matlin explains in the film, she was inspired to do the same. Ultimately she was able to extricate herself from both the drugs and the relationship, in the years following her breakout role. 

She also became an advocate within the deaf community at that time. Activism, she admits, hasn’t always been easy, but her contributions have been significant. She was an early proponent of screen captioning, helping to pass legislation regarding this accessibility tool and then championing it over the years on all platforms. “I see people using captions on planes,” she said at the Tribeca panel regarding in-flight entertainment. “I want to go over to them and say, ‘You’re welcome!’”

“I dream in captions,” Stern added. “I want people to know how much Marlee did for that issue. She was so young when she did that!”

Both women spoke to the screening attendees about the need for greater collaboration between the film world and deaf artists. “Have attitudes changed? In some aspects—not 100%. There are so many stories we can tell,” Matlin said. “And hire deaf people to run the set when you have deaf actors. There are so many beautiful, talented deaf people in film.” 

“People don’t want to pay for [ASL] interpreters on set,” she added. “It’s bullshit. Put it into the budget—like craft services!” 

“We need people to understand: Say yes! Take risks!” said Stern. “It’s worth it. It’s worth it.” 

Matlin’s advocacy, she noted, though powerful, deserves more attention: “Marlee has been saying these things for 40 years. People don’t listen.”

Asked what else she would like to say, Matlin joked, “Do we have five more hours?” 

Stern asked supporters to show up for the film. “We rely on people to come to the theater,” she said. “We need to make sure the story gets out there. We built it, so we hope you will come!”