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An Invitation to Reframe "Normal": TODO EL SILENCIO Presented at the 21st FICM

Omar Sosa Topete

As part of the 21st Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), Diego del Río, known for his work in theater, gave a press conference about Todo el silencio, his feature film debut.

The story, written by the winner of the Ariel for Best Original Screenplay in 2014, Lucía Carreras, follows Miriam, whose life closely concerns deaf people. In the mornings she teaches Mexican Sign Language (LSM) and in the afternoons she is part of the staging of a play, all while maintaining a relationship with her girlfriend Lola, an oralized deaf woman. However, Lola's world begins to collapse when otosclerosis begins to make her deaf.

Diego del Río was joined by producers Inna Payán, María Ayub and Luisa Salinas; actresses Ludwika Paleta and Adriana Llabrés; Eduardo Domínguez, who served as LSM's advisor during the project and is director of Seña y Verbo; and actor Moisés Melchor, a member of the theater group.

Cast of Todo el silencio

"Seña y Verbo is a group that has been doing theater in Mexico and the world for many years," said Del Río about the theater group, which was a key part of the film's development.

 "I am very honored that this group, which already has an international presence with the film, can remain in the collective imagination of viewers around the world," added the director.

 Diego del Río emphasized that in order to show respect for the deaf community, they worked on the ideal framing to show the conversations in sign language, in addition to ensuring that the direction of the actors was always aimed at building believable characters.

"I am very excited that Diego did so much research on the community, on the life of the deaf," said Moisés Melchor, himself a deaf actor, who added that the most gratifying thing for the first-time actor was that the deaf community told him they really felt represented in the film and the characters.

Both Diego del Río and Ludwika Paleta agreed that seeking universal normality is impossible, since all people have a particular way of perceiving the environment, and called for reframing the concept of “normal."