Film: Jessica Kellgren-Hayes
Love is blind in cannes
The world of independent films can at times be rather small, especially if we incorporate caveats such as ‘includes a deaf character’, which is how three different filmmakers came to recommend the same film to me in one week!
Love is Blind, a comedy short that aims to take a fresh look at the cinematic ‘love triangle’, was one of only eight films chosen to go before the committee for the Short Film Competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. 4,550 short films were submitted from over one hundred countries for the 2015 Short Film Palme d’or.
The film’s protagonist, Alice (Sophie Allen), has had a rather difficult year- her husband, James (Ace Mahbaz), has been away too much for work and the relationship is fraught. Alice succumbs to the attentions of a fellow student and starts an affair. The film begins as James returns home earlier than planned (in an attempt to make up for his own recent infidelity) and Alice is left racked with guilt for being unfaithful just as James offers an olive branch… whilst simultaneously attempting to negotiate her lover’s escape!
I’m excited to see the film as it is said to include sign language and deafness in a very casual manner, it isn’t even mentioned in the press release that James and the actor playing him are deaf. It’s great to see a deaf character whose deafness isn’t his defining feature, nor his ‘struggle’ with it being his sole storyline. As a deaf television presenter I often struggle with choosing between making people aware of my hearing difficulties (if I had a pound for every time a potential interviewee had asked to chat over the phone first…) and not wanting to be recognised purely for my disability.
Writer/Director Dan Hodgson developed the script for Love Is Blind with the help of Film London. He has previously been involved with the BFI funded short Orbit Ever After and the Virgin Media Shorts nominated Man Up. His debut short film Are You Albert?, about an incident with a dementia suffering grandmother hammering the nail into the coffin of a young relationship, is certainly one to go on your ‘must see’ list- although watch out for its dark tone, swearing and violence!
Love is Blind shares the director’s original twist on life but with a much more family friendly approach. It is sure to do well at the Cannes festival and at many others over the coming months.
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