Marlee Matlin Shines

When [Marlee] Matlin was approached by a film 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 Shoshanna Stern: “I know her as an actor and a dear friend. I knew someday she would direct.”

At a film festival interview, Matlin noted that Stern, 44, an actress making her directorial debut, “made sure I would be in a safe space in the interviews.”

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 a 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!”