Cinema

Song of the Hands // Landed

FIFA

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Song of the Hands explores deafness through music, following Jennifer, Gabriel, and José—three Deaf musicians from Venezuela—as they take on the challenge of staging Beethoven’s Fidelio in sign language for the first time under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel.

The film reveals the isolation they experience within their own families and the social discrimination they face, while showing how music becomes not only their refuge but also their salvation and hope as they step into the role of community role models.

Following auditions and rehearsals leading up to the premiere in Caracas, Songs of the Hands tells the story of an extraordinary human and artistic journey.

Première canadienne

Sélection officielle - longs-métrages

Opening act: short film Landed

Short film

Première canadienne
Sélection officielle - courts-métrages
Canada / Italie / 2025 / 18 minutes / italien S.-T. français 

 

Réalisation Marlene Millar Coauteur Sandy Silva Auteur Marlene Millar Direction de la photographie Marzio Maribella Production Marlene Millar, Sandy Silva Direction musicale Jean Fréchette Montage Jules De Niverville Chorégraphie Sandy Silva Distribution Marlene Millar

 

Landed is a collaboration between Montreal-based choreographer Sandy Silva and filmmaker Marlene Millar. Created in situ in Italy with dancers, musicians, and community members—both Italian and international—Landed weaves movement, music, and landscapes into a cinematic meditation on memory and transformation.

LANDED Group Parco Dora

María Valverde

I have spent two decades in the world of acting.

I always wanted to be an actress, and that dream became a reality thanks to the support and effort of my parents. My dream grew beyond anything I ever imagined or planned. When I was fifteen, film director Manuel Martín Cuenca chose me to star in what would become my first movie. Thanks to that project, I won a Goya Award for Best New Actress. That’s how my exciting career began.

I started traveling around the world working on films, television series, and theater productions with directors such as Luca Guadagnino, Jordan Scott, David Trueba, Alberto Arvelo, Ridley Scott, Asif Kapadia, Koldo Serra, Mélanie Laurent, Cédric Klapisch, Andrés Wood, and Claudia Llosa, among others. They became my mentors and guides.

Acting has been and continues to be my life, but a few years ago I began to take an interest in other things that fill my heart. My husband and I lead the Dudamel Foundation to create opportunities through art, culture, and music, allowing young people to shape their creative future and become role models in their communities.

I wanted to become a film director because of my two great passions: acting and creating opportunities. For a long time, I felt the need to tell and shape my own stories to approach truth from a different perspective. In this documentary, I see the perfect opportunity to develop those stories.

Biographical notes provided by the film production team 

Marlene Millar

For over 30 years, filmmaker Marlene Millar has created dance films, documentaries and installations. In 2019, her career was honoured at a retrospective at Threshold Artspace, Scotland. Her Migration Dance Film Project, created in collaboration with choreographer and co-producer Sandy Silva, have won over 40 awards, including Best Canadian Short Film at FIFA 2021.

Biographical notes provided by the film production team 

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