NZSL belongs on the big screen

When people ask what I do, I usually say I'm a filmmaker. I'm a Deaf Māori filmmaker who works as a director, writer, producer and access coordinator. Over the years I've worked across television, documentaries and short films, but my long-term goal has always been the same: to direct a feature film that places Deaf and Indigenous storytelling at its centre.

My journey hasn't always been straightforward.

One of the biggest challenges has been accessibility, not just physical access on set, but creative access. Deaf stories have often been expected to fit within hearing ways of making films. Sign language is frequently treated as something that needs translating or explaining, rather than being recognised as a complete language that can shape the way a story is told.

Working in the screen industry has also meant helping create spaces that weren't originally designed with Deaf creatives in mind. Sometimes that involves advocating for interpreters or accessible communication. Other times it's about showing producers and crew that Deaf people aren't simply participants in filmmaking, we're storytellers with our own perspectives and creative approaches.

The rewards, however, have made the journey worthwhile. Whether I'm directing, acting, producing or working as an access coordinator, I love being on set. Film is a collaborative art form, and there's something special about bringing people together to create stories that audiences can connect with. That's what continues to motivate me.

At the moment I'm writing my first feature film, Hear Me Out. It's a psychological body horror story, but underneath the genre elements, it's a human story based on assimilation, identity and the pressure to change who you are in order to belong.

Those themes come directly from my experiences growing up Deaf in a hearing world.

This year I was fortunate to receive the Whakahoa Kaitoi Whanaketanga Creative New Zealand Deaf and Disabled Artists Fellowship 2026, presented by Arts Access Aotearoa. This fellowship has given me the opportunity to explore a question I've been thinking about for years: what happens when New Zealand Sign Language isn't treated as accessibility, but as cinema?

Most films are built around spoken dialogue. The camera, editing and pacing all assume that speech carries the story. But, my research asks what happens if we start somewhere else.

What if the story begins with visual language?

NZSL already has its own grammar, rhythm and use of space. Meaning isn't carried only by the hands. It exists through facial expression, body movement, timing and the relationships between people within a space. Those elements are already cinematic, they simply haven't been explored enough as the foundation for filmmaking.

As part of the fellowship I've been analysing scenes from my story and filming practical experiments to see how different camera angles affect signed communication.

Some of the findings have surprised me.

In spoken-language films, close-ups are often used to create emotional intimacy. With NZSL, however, moving the camera too close can actually remove important parts of the language. If the hands move outside the frame or the signing space is restricted, meaning begins to disappear.

On the other hand, wider compositions sometimes feel more authentic because they allow the language to exist naturally within the frame. The audience can observe the relationship between movement, body, facial expression and space rather than focusing on a single element. It has made me realise that Deaf visual storytelling may require different cinematic rules than those traditionally used in hearing films.

The research is still evolving, and I certainly don't have all the answers. Every filming experiment raises new questions. That's one of the exciting parts of the process.

This year also marks the twentieth anniversary of NZSL becoming an official language. That recognition was an important milestone for our community, particularly in education, government and public services.

But I'd love to see NZSL continue growing beyond those spaces.

Much of the content we currently create is educational. We teach the language, explain Deaf culture and advocate for accessibility. That work is important and will always have a place.

At the same time, I'd like to see more entertainment created in NZSL, especially through a Deaf lens. More dramas. More thrillers. More horror. More comedy. More stories where Deaf people simply exist as characters and audiences watch because they're entertained, not because they're attending a lesson.

I think that's one of the ways languages continue to grow. People connect with them through stories.

Recognition gave NZSL a place in law. The next step is giving it a place in our creative imagination. Languages don't survive because they're recognised on paper; they survive because people live them, create with them and tell stories through them.

My hope is that NZSL moves beyond accessibility and into authorship, where Deaf people aren't simply included in cinema, but help redefine what cinema can be.

Jared’s project has been developed through the Whakahoa Kaitoi Whanaketanga Creative New Zealand Deaf and Disabled Artists Fellowship 2026.