Exclusive: Director Doug Roland and actor Steven Prescod talk Academy Award-nominated Live Action Short Film ‘Feeling Through’
Among the films nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the upcoming 93rd Academy Awards is the emotional ‘Feeling Through,’ starring Steven Prescod and Robert Tarango — the first deaf-blind actor to perform in a film.
A late-night encounter on a New York City street leads to a profound connection between a teen in need and a DeafBlind man. The Academy Award-nominated short film, Feeling Through is the first film to star a DeafBlind actor.
Tereek — a young man trying hard not to reveal his lack of a home — is desperately looking for a bed for the night, texting friends in hopes that he can crash with them. But just when something comes through, he finds himself helping out Artie, a deaf-blind man waiting for a bus home.
Written and directed by Doug Roland and made in partnership with Helen Keller Services, Feeling Through represents the dawn of a new era for disability representation in storytelling. This is not a film about disability, it’s a film about the power of human connection, in which one of the characters happens to have disabilities. This film was made the right way, alongside the DeafBlind community, accessible every step of the way. Doug then toured the country with a fully accessible movie event where each moviegoer was provided custom accessibility free of charge, including ASL interpreters, tactile interpreters, audio description devices, and seating accommodations for all levels of hearing and vision needs.
Among the executive producers are Golden Globe and Academy Award Winner Marlee Matlin and longtime interpreter/producer Jack Jason and Andrew Carlberg (SKIN, 2019 Academy Award winner for Live Action Short Film). Matlin won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God and to date is the only deaf performer to have won an Academy Award.
For Prescod, his pathway to starring in an Oscar-nominated film includes jail time, CITY KIDS programming to performing for Prince William & Kate. William was so inspired he gave the kid his phone number.
BlackFilmandTV.com's Wilson Morales talks to director Doug Roland and actor Steven Prescod about their experience working on this extraordinary film.