INPUT / … / … / Portraying Abuse. Stand Alone: How to tell a difficult story involving vulnerable collectives.

Care institutions play a crucial role in our society, as they are trusted with the protection and care of the most vulnerable. But what happens when they do not fulfil this obligation? This session is devoted to a feature-length fiction about a real-life case of sexual violence and abuse in a school for hearing-impaired minors. On the one hand, this film raises questions about the portrayal of such a brutal and horrible case. Does it go too far in terms of depicting violence and abuse involving minors? What is its aim? How to portray victim and abuser in a case where these lines are blurred? What response does the narrative expect to elicit from the audience? And what was the impact of the film on public debate? On the other hand, the session will also reflect on the representation of deafness in fiction: the film is told from the children’s point of view, and it mainly uses sign language, which is still uncommon. What are the creative choices behind the film regarding the depiction of this unrepresented collective?