Ángela (Miriam Garlo) is deaf. Héctor (Álvaro Cervantes), her partner, is not. Their relationship has been shaped by love, communication and adaptation, but when their first child is born, a delicate balance begins to slip.

The world around Ángela is not made for her; from strained conversations with her parents, to the isolation of maternity wards and medical appointments, she is expected to translate herself constantly. Her deafness, so often framed by others as a lack, becomes a source of strength and resistance in a world that can’t, or won’t, listen.

Based on intimate conversations with her deaf sister (Miriam Garlo, who plays Ángela), director Eva Libertad expands her acclaimed short into a remarkable debut feature. Deaf eschews cliché in favour of specificity, crafting an emotionally resonant portrait of motherhood from a perspective rarely seen on screen. Collecting the Audience Award at Berlin, Libertad’s direction is tender, unsentimental and deeply observant, while Miriam Garlo delivers a performance of rare depth and vulnerability.