To be deaf is an experience no hearing person can ever fully understand
EMILIA JONES, THE DAUGHTER OF WELSH SINGER ALED JONES, STARS IN NEW FILM CODA. SHE REVEALS HOW SHE PREPARED TO PLAY THE MUSIC-LOVING CHILD OF A DEAF COUPLE
SHE may come from singing royalty, but for her latest role, actress Emilia Jones had to step up her own musical talents.
The 19-year-old, whose father is Welsh star Aled Jones, relished the challenge presented by new film Coda.
Coda is an acronym which stands for child of deaf adults, and the movie tells the story of a teenage girl who is the only hearing member of her family and dreams of becoming a singer.
Her character Ruby joins the high school choir club and finds her musical feet, leaving her torn between pursuing her love of music and abandoning her deaf parents and their fishing business.
“I’ve always been a singer in the shower and singing around the house and things. I guess I’d never done anything at the level that was required for Coda. I’d never had a singing lesson,” explains Emilia.
She auditioned for the film with the song Landslide by Fleetwood
Mac, and so began her journey to the big screen.
“I’ve grown up listening and singing, but Coda was exciting to me, because I love a challenge,” she enthuses.
With previous roles in Netflix series Locke & Key and Doctor Who, the film Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans and more under her belt, she says her parents are “incredibly supportive”, but are also “very, very laid back, and leave me to it, in a way”.
She explains: “My dad was happy and excited, because he knows I love singing and it was an excuse to have lessons and grow and learn. And he saw how much I was enjoying it.”
For the role, Emilia spent nine months learning American Sign Language (ASL) ahead of starting work alongside her co-stars, with her parents in the film both played by deaf actors.
The role of Ruby’s mother, Jackie
Rossi, is played by actress Marlee Matlin, who won a best actress Oscar for her role in the 1986 film Children Of A Lesser God and has a string of credits including The West Wing and more to her name.
Her father, Frank Rossi, is played by deaf actor Troy Kotsur, who has been directing and acting for more than two decades.
Coda has already made an impression in the cinematic world, winning a number of prizes at the Sundance Film Festival this year, including the honour of the US dramatic grand jury prize, with Sian Heder also winning a directing prize for her work on the film.
The film also made headlines for another reason, after it was reportedly sold to Apple for $25 million (about £18 million), a record at the annual film festival event.
Coda is an Englishlanguage remake of the 2014 French film, La Famille Belier, which came under fire when it was released due to the casting of hearing actors portraying deaf actors in the lead roles.
Director Sian Heder, whose other credits include the film Tallulah, said of the cast for her version: “It was never an option for me to make this movie with hearing actors playing deaf people. I wanted to tell an authentic story.
“The idea you would have these juicy deaf parts and not cast a brilliant deaf actor was unthinkable.
“There’s an incredible pool of deaf actors, particularly within the theatre community. I saw so much talent when we were auditioning for these roles.”
Asked about the high price tag the film reportedly fetched at Sundance, the American filmmaker says she hopes it “sends an amazing message”.
She explains: “The message is that these kinds of stories can be profitable. Stories that feature deaf characters or characters with disability have not been put on screen very often, and there’s a reluctance from studios and financiers to back these kinds of projects.
“So my real feeling, seeing that number was like, ‘Good’. I hope Hollywood follows suit, opens their doors and knows this is a good business investment.
“And maybe this movie can create a movement... there are so many stories within the deaf community, this is just one. And this does not represent every deaf experience or every Coda experience.
“I hope that more stories like this get to be told. So that’s honestly what that number means to me and why it’s exciting.”
The authenticity of the film was also something that was important to Emilia.
She says: “I loved that a strong example of representation done right was Coda. I love that Sian wanted incredible deaf actors to play these roles.
“Because to be deaf is so much more than sign language. It’s an experience that no hearing person can ever fully understand.”
She worked with one of the film’s deaf culture consultants, Anselmo DeSousa, and explains: “He was so patient, and he didn’t just teach me about ASL. He taught me deaf culture. And that then allowed me to know a lot about the world and the culture for when I landed in Massachusetts [to film] and meet everyone”.
Emilia says “it was very much a group effort”, adding: “I was so grateful they accepted me into their world and culture, I loved learning it... this film really, really, really taught me so much.
“Working with all of these people taught me the true meaning of communication.”
...maybe this movie can create a movement Director Sian Heder on Coda
Coda is in cinemas now and on Apple TV+