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 'It's inside, that's what really matters': Filmmaker hopes to shed light on deaf and hard of hearing

'It's inside that's what really matters and and that's who we are' filmmaker hopes to shed light on deaf and hard of hearing
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WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Filmmaker Jordan Ochel hopes his film, Healing Hands, will open the minds of viewers at this year's Waco Independent Film Festival to the importance of interaction of people with disabilities

  • Healing Hands is set to debut on Friday, July 18th at 8pm at the Performing Arts Community Center in Downtown Waco
  • The Waco Independent Film Festival goes from Thursday, July 17th- Sunday, July 20th
  • To purchase tickets to view Healing Hands, click here.

Watch Heather talk to Jordan about the short film:

'It's inside that's what really matters and and that's who we are' filmmaker hopes to shed light on deaf and hard of hearing

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Imagine being the only one not able to hear.

“It’s based on a moment in my childhood, um, where my perspective of myself and my perspective of society's perspective on myself really changed,” Jordan Ochel said, creator and director of the film Healing Hands.

The short film healing hands aims to shed light on the deaf and hard of hearing and the struggle to fit in.

“This is a story about a young deaf boy's experience, his desire to belong and find belonging and an event that changed his perspective of what it means to belong,” Jordan said.

Based on the experiences of creator, writer and director Jordan Ochel, he hopes this film sparks a much needed conversation.

“It is about deafness and the deaf community, it is about though from a wider perspective disabilities and society's perspective on disabilities and the way that we in society treat and view deaf people and disabled people in general has a large impact on one's self-esteem, one's sense of belonging and worth in the world,” Jordan added.

Now the Associate Director of Digital Strategy at Baylor University, Jordan hopes the message from his film is heard loud and clear.

“I really hope that viewers get the sense of how important it is when interacting with people with disabilities um to treat them just like anyone else um because it's inside that's what really matters and that's who we are,” Jordan concluded.