The Tuba Thieves

Inspired by a series of mysterious tuba thefts across Los Angeles high schools, O’Daniel’s visually stunning and sonically surprising film The Tuba Thieves mixes documentary, narrative, and essay filmmaking. Rather than exploring the mystery, the film, according to O’Daniel, is “about listening, but it is not tethered to the ear. It is a film about Deaf gain, hearing loss and the perception of sound in Los Angeles.” 

Through her uniquely creative use of captioning, sound, and silence, she asks viewers to consider the experiences of those who are deaf and hard of hearing. A largely deaf cast creates a collage of vignettes, including reenactments of the 1952 premiere of John Cage’s silent piece “4′33″” and the 1979 punk concert at the San Francisco Deaf Club organized by filmmaker and artist Bruce Conner. Previous Wex guest Christine Sun Kim appears in the film and contributed to its score. American Sign Language, English, and Spanish with open captions. (92 mins., DCP) 

O’Daniel worked on one of the earliest segments of the film—which was presented in The Box in 2014—at the Wexner Center’s Film/Video Studio. After a decade of continued work on the project, we’re excited to welcome her back with the completed film following its notable premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Stick around after the screening for a Q&A with the director!  
  
The film was created with open captions and an audio description track. A limited number of audio description headsets will be available from staff at the back of the theater. Balloons will also be available to audience members who wish to feel the film’s soundtrack.

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The Tuba Thieves, courtesy of The Film Collaborative.