- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we introduce you to the work
of an up-and-coming director
who asks us to consider
what we hear and even more importantly, what we don't hear
in her award-winning film
The Tuba Thieves.
Los Angeles-based director Alison O'Daniel
is a deaf visual artist.
One day she decided to write a screenplay
that combines real narratives from her life
with fiction about what it's like to be hard of hearing.
She thought it would be interesting
if she tried to make sound the main character.
In tonight's film, O'Daniel introduces us
to a deaf drummer, her hearing father, and boyfriend,
and explores the bond they all share over music.
O'Daniel ties the story of our main character
and hearing-impaired drummer
to a rash of musical instrument thefts
in south Los Angeles.
When she heard that tubas were stolen from the high schools,
she thought about how it would affect the marching bands
who no longer had a booming bass sound
you can only get with a tuba.
O'Daniel decided she wanted to try writing this story
into a screenplay.
It inspired her to pursue the project full-time.
The film began as an art project
with O'Daniel filming little bits of her experiences
regarding her hearing issues,
deciding to experiment with sound, or the lack thereof.
The director uses various clips of performances and daily life,
and experiments with
what you hear or think you should be hearing.
The director often works with others,
collaborating with hearing, deaf, and hard of hearing
composers and performers or musicians.
She attempts to highlight the loss or
re-creation of information as it passes through various channels.
Her goal with her art projects?
To build a visual, aural, and haptic vocabulary
as a means to tell stories.
Through her creativity, she asks a simple question,
"Can listening be removed from the ear?"
So, let's sit back and watch,
and more importantly, listen
to the work of this unique and risk-taking director
who explores what it means to listen.
The Tuba Thieves starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.