Why Toulouse has become “the city of the deaf”
In his latest documentary “the city of whispers”, Pierre-Louis Levacher went to meet the deaf community of Toulouse, considered the French capital of the hearing impaired.
In his latest documentary “the city of whispers”, Pierre-Louis Levacher went to meet the deaf community of Toulouse, considered the French capital of the hearing impaired.
How did the documentary project “the city of whispers” come about?
When I was younger, I was a very shy person, who spoke little and spoke in images. To do violence to myself, I decided to learn sign language and become an interpreter. I’ve been signing for 30 years, yet I haven’t asked for deaf family or relatives. But I got to know this small community. Through “the city of whispers”, I wanted to show the city where a large part of this community lives. Toulouse is the city of the deaf.
How does Toulouse stand out as a capital of the deaf?
In the 80s, pirate classes were created: classes where we learned sign language. The project provided many parents who expected their children to have an adapted school. Now it is these children who bring their own children there. There is a very militant aspect in the region to integrate the deaf. Between the universal theater school of Martin Cros where the majority of my documentary takes place, the restaurant l’Oreille Cassée, one of the largest networks of interpreters, Interprétis: it is much easier to have access to interpreters, care services, university… There is a real attractiveness to the city.
What testimony impressed you the most during the making of the documentary?
I am thinking directly of Thumette. She moved from Brittany to come to Toulouse because in Brittany it was very difficult for her to make herself understood. It’s good to live in Brittany or even in Paris, but for the deaf, there is not this ease of being understood and integrated elsewhere than here.