Deaf actress cries to see her dead body on film

Whangarei residents will get a chance to see top acting talents in the Deaf Short Film Festival.

Award-winning actress Hilda Tamepo stars in one of the films 'Goodbye Buzzy'.

The deaf Hikurangi grandmother was named best actress in the biennial Deaf Short Film Competition - out of 15 films from throughout New Zealand.

Through an interpreter, Hilda says she was pleased to win the $500 award because playing a dying woman was difficult.

"When I saw my body dead in the movie it made me cry," she says.

The actress also had to put her body on the line - swimming in the ocean for the first time and rolling down a sand dune.

'Goodbye Buzzy', directed by a Northlander, also won an award for best cinematography. It includes a Buzzy Bee, which Hilda collects.

"Because I'm deaf it really doesn't bother me that they make a noise," she says.

Hilda says she is keen on acting, and won an award in 2004 for her part in a play in front of deaf and hearing audiences.

She is working on a script for the 2009 Deaf Short Film Competition.

Meanwhile, the best deaf short films from this year will be on display in an August festival.

While the films are directed by deaf people, they have sub-titles so hearing people can understand them, says festival organiser and Deaf Association NZ Whangarei office manager Catherine Bagley.

Films like Goodbye Buzzy are mimes, she says, and all 15 movies are under seven minutes.

Catherine is now looking for sponsorship of the festival, which will raise awareness of the deaf community and sign language.

n The Deaf Short Film Festival will be held at Forum North's Cafler suite from 6pm on Wednesday, August 15. Tickets are $5, available from the Deaf Association in Deveron St.

- © Fairfax NZ News