In Deaf Jam, Aneta, right, an Israeli
O immigrant living in the Queens section
▪ of New York City, and Tahani, a hearing
• Palestinian slam poet, create a new form
of slam poetry that speaks to both the
hearing and the deaf.
Jordan's Journey
Local man's story
subject of new doc.
rian Kruger and Buddy
Moorehouse of Stunt3
Multimedia in conjunction
with Hang Tough Productions will
premiere their new film, Speak for
Yourself: The Jordan Levin Story,
7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the
Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield
Township.
Levin, cur-
rently of Keego
Harbor, was born
prematurely and
profoundly deaf in
1976. In an effort
to mainstream him
into the hearing
Jordan Levin
world, his parents,
Martin and Mollene
Levin of West Bloomfield, decided to
raise him to speak and read lips so
he could communicate with anyone.
That decision put them at odds with
the majority of the deaf community,
which teaches sign language as a
way to communicate, often isolat-
ing its members from the greater
society.
Based on the book We Were
Relentless: A Family's Journey to
Overcome Disability by Martin Levin,
the film chronicles Jordan's journey
from birth through his life today as
a successful gym owner (CrossFit
Bloomfield), hockey player and per-
sonal trainer.
Stunt3 Multimedia plans to
distribute the movie to high
schools around the country as a tool
for learning that disabilities have
no boundaries and to motivate stu-
dents to achieve their greater goals;
corporate partners to help sponsor
the movie's distribution are being
sought.
There will be a question-and-
answer period following the screen-
ing at the Maple Theatre.
Seating is limited; RSVP by Nov.
14 to mop66@sbcglobal.net or (248)
515-5012. Tickets will be held at the
door. A suggested donation of $15 will
benefit the Jordan Levin Childhood
Obesity Foundation, a 501(3)(c) not-
for-profit organization. I I
B
The Power Of Poetry
Israeli-born deaf teen's American Sign Language
verses propel Deaf Jam.
Michael Fox
automatically had a connection to it."
Lieff began making video poems with
deaf students and got wind of a high
neta Brodski is a whirlwind of
school poetry class at the Lexington
motion. To, from and at her New School for the Deaf. She raised the funds
York high school for the deaf,
to expand it into a yearlong after-school
the boisterous, Israeli-born teen commu-
program, and the next step was videotap-
nicates nonstop with friends and teachers
ing prospective students.
in American Sign Language.
"The audition tapes went out to the
Her buoyant personality, and her non-
teachers, and Aneta just jumped out at
stop urge to compose and perform poetry, everyone right away:' Lieff says.
galvanizes Judy Lieff's kinetic, inspiring
Aneta was 7 years old when she moved
documentary, Deaf Jam.
to the U.S. with her family. She'd learned
The film premieres on public television
Israeli Sign Language, and to this day it's
stations nationwide Thursday, Nov. 3, as
the language she and her best friend use to
part of PBS's Independent Lens series.
talk with each other. However, Aneta hasn't
Locally, it debuts 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5,
been back to Israel since she left. Her par-
on DPTV Plus-Channel 56.2
ents, who also are deaf, didn't obtain their
An accomplished dancer, teacher and
green cards until this past summer so the
filmmaker, Lieff was ready for a new direc-
family risked not being readmitted to the
tion when a friend introduced her to sign-
U.S. if they traveled abroad.
ing.
Some viewers will see Aneta — incor-
"I was getting bored with the whole
rectly — as a stand-in for Israel. Others
dance scene she confided. "I was making
will conclude that, like many young immi-
experimental dance films, and I wanted
grants, America is now her country.
to do something else that resonated with
"You could say that:' Lieff says, "but
me. Wow! Finally, here's something really
she's [hasn't been] legal. So, can this be
concrete. It's movement, but it's saying
your country if you [haven't been] legal,
something. It's not esoteric."
and you've been living here since you were
Deaf Jam is instantly, and compulsively,
7? She doesn't have any of the benefits that
compelling to watch — even for those
any of her peers have by being a citizen.
who have not been exposed to deaf kids
It's a ridiculous injustice
talking in American Sign Language (ASL).
This off-camera context adds another
"They're speaking with their bodies:'
layer of complexity to Aneta's on-camera
explains Lieff, who grew up in a woodsy
collaboration with Tahani, a hearing
town in Connecticut and migrated to New Palestinian-American slam poet. Tahani
York to dance and attend college.
and Aneta rehearse and rewrite their poem,
"For dancers, your first language is
present a version at Gallaudet University for
physical expression. So to have a language
the Deaf in Washington, D.C., and perform
that is based in physical expression, I
the finished piece to a rapt crowd at a New
Special to the Jewish News
A
46
November 3 0 2011
York spoken word show.
"Tahani is a really special person:' Leiff
says. "She's a youth mentor for Urban
Word NYC, and she's immersed in that
world. If you look at her Facebook page,
she has over a thousand friends. She's
someone who I feel is the epitome of tol-
erance, but she comes from a very strict
Muslim family. When the girls were per-
forming at Gallaudet, she was not allowed
to spend the night there. Her father came
down and picked her up.
"I think the collaboration affected
Tahani," Leiff continues. "She has kind of
a sheltered existence. Her parents grew
up in [the Palestinian territories], but she
did not. Her father has created a prosper-
ous life here. The dichotomy between the
two families, and what is open to Tahani, I
think that really hit her."
Deaf Jam backgrounds its social issue
concerns, but Leiff realizes that won't stop
some viewers from embracing Aneta and
Tahani's collaboration as a metaphor for
Israeli-Palestinian cooperation.
"I just think, in general, the film is
about tolerance she declares. "So many
times prejudice isn't based on per-
sonal experience. Sometimes it's just
what's learned. Whether it's the Israeli-
Palestinian [issue], or other factions,
[the film] can be representative of many
constituencies where there's built-in preju-
dice' I I
Deaf Jam premieres 10 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 5, on DPTV Plus-
Channel 56.2. Check your TV listings
for additional broadcasts.
- Gail Zimmerman