英國出品人Maverick Litchfield-Kelly & Monica Rubio分享

Maverick Litchfield-Kelly & Monica Rubio

英國Neath電影有限公司電影製作人
英國手語信託基金ZOOM計劃出品人

在2009年11月之前，我們從來沒有遇見過任何聾人電影工作者，也從來沒有想過英國手語（BS L)可以主導電影內容。我們在一個偶然的機會知道英國手語廣播信託基金 (BSLBT）一個替聾人而設的低成本電影製作計劃進行招標。我們一直對發掘電影製作的新領域感興趣，所以我們聯同聾人導演Sam Dore營運ZOOM聾人電影製作計劃，培育新的聾人電影工作者。

在ZOOM計劃中，我們對聾人電影的理解多了。在2010年，我們製作了6套短片。在這個過程中，我們了解聾人如何以英國手語拍電影及健聽電影製作之問有著細微而重要的差別。剪接的速度需要調整，以適應畫面構圖；視覺的語法也需要不同的呈現方法。

2010年度ZOOM計劃獲得空前的成功。聾人電影工作者被戲稱為ZOOM BIES。影片提交到世界各地的聾人和主流的電影節，好評如潮。

2011年，我們為ZOOM推出一項新計劃，名為ZOOM FOCUS。

ZOOM FOCUS為已成功完成ZOOM計劃的製作人，提供較多的預算和給予較長的電影時間。在 2011年，我們拍攝了8部短片：5部ZOOM短片和3部ZOOM FOCUS短片。我們雄心勃勃的製作了很多不同題材的電影，包括了第二次世界大戰時期的戲劇、溫馨的家庭劇、批判主流電影欠缺字幕的喜劇、通過想像耳聾能夠治療而思考聾人文化的未來的戲劇。這些電影在世界各地的的聾人電影節獲獎無數，如法國聾人電影節Clin d'oeiI ' Deaffest，美國緬因州聾人電影節以及 Look And Roll。

去年，我們製作了6齣新電影：一齣8分鐘的手繪動畫、一齣講述上世紀70年代在貝爾法斯特聾人社區中天主教和新教分歧的紀錄片、一齣關於九一一的戲劇、一齣以八十年代蘇格蘭作背景的家庭劇、一齣發生在聖誕節時問紐卡素的兄童電影和一齣關於米蘭會議所帶來的影響及 Alexander Graham Bell和他的聾人妻子Mabel的維多利亞時代戲劇。

在ZOOM計劃之外，我們還與有豐富電影經驗的聾人導演製作電影，如Sam Dore執導的《追逐棉花雲》（於第二屆香港國際聾人電影節播放）和Bim Ajadi的《世界冠軍》（於第三屆香港國際聾人電影節播放）

從對聾人和英國手語言電影製作一無所知，我們現在已製作了22套以英國手語拍攝的聾人短片，以及不斷發掘新一代的聾人電影製作人。雖然ZOOM計劃於2013年暫別一年，我們會專注於如何進一步發展該計劃。聾人電影製作人將繼續努力尋找新的故事告訴大家。

Maverick Litchfield-Kelly & Monica Rubio

Creative Producer/ Director&Colourist of Neath Films Ltd,UK
Producer of Neath Films-BSLBT ZOOM Scheme

Until November 2009 we had never come across any Deaf filmmakers, and had certainly never thought about British Sign Language (BSL) led content. We were sent a link to a tender from the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust to produce a series of low budget programmes in BSL. Having always been interested in working in new areas of filmmaking we teamed up with Deaf filmmaker Sam Dore and put in a tender to run ZOOM as a short film scheme for new Deaf filmmakers.

Our leap of learning was enormous and in 2010 we produced 6 short films. During this process we gained an understanding of how making films in BSL is subtly different from hearing filmmaking, in that the editing pace has to be adapted and shot composition and visual grammar need a different approach.

ZOOM 2010, was a success, and the filmmakers were dubbed the ZOOMBIES. The films were submitted to Deaf and mainstream festivals around the world to great acclaim.

It was decided that for ZOOM 2011 we would introduce a new scheme, ZOOM FOCUS, for filmmakers who had successfully completed ZOOM, with a higher budget and a longer run time. In 2011 we made 8 short films — 5 ZOOM and 3 ZOOM Focus. Hugely ambitious, the films included a World War 2 period drama, an intimate family drama, a comedy about the lack of subtitles in mainstream cinema and an ambitious drama about the future of Deaf culture through an imagined medical cure, which was a huge success at festivals around the world winning many prestigious awards from festivals such as Clin d'oeil, Deaffest, Maine Deaf Film Festival and Look And Roll.

Last year we developed 6 new films: An 8 min hand drawn animation; a documentary about the Catholic and Protestant Deaf community in Belfast in the 7os; a drama about September 11 by our youngest ever awardee; a family drama set in Scotland in the 8os; a children's film in Newcastle Upon Tyne interweaving two stories during Christmas, and a Victorian period drama about the repercussions of the Milan Conference, featuring Alexander Graham Bell and his Deaf wife Mabel.

Outside of the ZOOM scheme we also produced 2 dramas with more experienced directors: Chasing Cotton Clouds directed by Sam Dore (which played at HKIDFF2) and Champion of The World directed by Bim Ajadi (which played at HKIDFF3).

So from not knowing anything about Deaf or BSL filmmaking, we have now produced 22 short films in BSL, developing a new generation of Deaf filmmakers. Although ZOOM has taken a break for 2013 while we focus on how to further develop the scheme, we will continue working with many of the filmmakers looking for new stories to tell.