Experiencing Interruptions?

IMAGINED TOUCH

When two Deafblind women asked a theatre director to
help them make a show about being deaf and blind, never
in their wildest dreams did they imagine it would become an
award-winning show.

  • Jodee Mundy OAM
    Director
    IMAGINED TOUCH- Nominated for Best Direction - Documentary Short ( subject) by the Australian Directors Guild.
  • Sofya Gollan
    Director
    Nominated for three AFI (ACCTA) Awards, (Best Director and Best Screenplay) PRESERVATION. Nominated for Best Director at the Australian Film Critics Circle Awards, and Best Screenplay at the Australian Writers Guild. ATOM award winner of Best Short Documentary. Her short films as writer/director have appeared in more than 50 film festivals worldwide including the prestigious Clermont Frerrand
  • Sofya Gollan
    Writer
  • Jodee Mundy OAM
    Producer
  • Heather Lawson
    Key Cast
  • Michelle Stevens
    Key Cast
  • Jodee Mundy
    Key Cast
    Holby City, Switch
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    documentary
  • Runtime:
    32 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 10, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    British Sign Language
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital -
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • ReelAbilities Film Festival, New York
    New York
    United States
    May 1, 2023
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
  • The Other Film Festival and Australian Centre of Moving Image
    Melbourne
    Australia
    September 30, 2022
    Australian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Lincoln Center of Performing Arts
    New York
    United States
    May 2, 2023
    North America Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Melbourne Women in Film Festival and Australian Centre of Moving Image
    Melbourne
    Australia
    February 26, 2023
    In person premiere at ACMI
    Official Selection
  • Australian Directors Guild Awards 2023
    Sydney
    Australia
    Best Direction- Documentary Short (subject) 2023
  • ReelAbilities Film Festival Salt Lake City

    United States
  • ReelAbilities Film Festival North Virginia

    United States
    February 1, 2024
Distribution Information
  • SBS- Special Broadcast Service Australia
    Distributor
    Country: Australia
    Rights: Video on Demand, Free TV
Director Biography - Jodee Mundy OAM, Sofya Gollan

Sofya Gollan: Writer/Director
Crossing from a career in theatre, Sofya switched to making several short films and a short feature that saw her become an award- winning writer and director of documentary and drama. For IMAGINED TOUCH, Sofya was nominated for Best Direction Documentary Short (subject) in 2023 by the Australian Directors Guild. Her other films were nominated for three AFI (ACCTA) Awards, including Best Director and Best Screenplay for her short feature film PRESERVATION. She has also been nominated for Best Director at the Australian Film Critics Circle Awards, and Best Screenplay at the Australian Writers Guild. She is an ATOM award winner of Best Short Documentary. Her short films as writer/director have appeared in more than 50 film festivals worldwide including the prestigious Clermont Frerrand. She is a graduate actor of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and the Australian Film & Television and Radio School (AFTRS) holding a Masters in Directing. She is also Deaf and is a proud member of the Deaf/Disabled communities.

Jodee Mundy OAM: Director/Producer
Jodee is an interdisciplinary artist working across theatre, public events, installations, live art, festival direction and film. In 2023, IMAGINED TOUCH the film documentary was nominated for Best Direction- Documentary Short (subject) by the prestigious Australian Directors Guild. The theatre performance of Imagined Touch awarded a Green Room Award for Innovation in Experiential Theatre (IMAGINED TOUCH), nominated for four Green Room Awards for Best Writing, Best Production, Best Visual Production and Best Direction, a Helpmann Award for Best Visual/Theatre Production and a Whickers Award for Personal, her solo show. A graduate theatre maker from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), she is doing her Masters in Cultural Leadership at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA). Jodee is a CODA, growing up in a Deaf family and is native signer of Australian Sign Language. She lives with a life-threatening illness and identifies as a disabled artist. In 2020 she was awarded the national prestigious Order of Australia Medal for Service to the Performing Arts. IMAGINED TOUCH is her first documentary as Producer/Director. www.jodeemundy.com

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Director Statement

Writer/Director Statement – Sofya Gollan
This is a compelling story like no other, peopled with women who are brave risk takers and absolutely representative of a community that has no public face to the world. Most people would assume that to be deafblind is worse than death but Heather and Michelle show us, with immense grace and humour, it is most definitely not. With professional support, technology and tactile sign language they take part in the world in a way that is deeply relatable – they’re putting on a show! And it is a show that invites the audience deep inside their deafblind experience in a way that is magical and profoundly moving. With my own intimate understanding of disability and how it plays out in my own life I have felt nothing but delight in crafting this story in a way that shows Heather and Michelle to be as vividly human as any able-bodied person. This is an astonishing and heartfelt story about three Australian women who let nothing stop them in realising their dream for a fairer and more equal world through the literal experience of walking in another persons' shoes.

Director/Producer Statement– Jodee Mundy OAM
Working on Imagined Touch with Heather and Michelle has been an extraordinary journey. Through the mode of touch and through tactile sign language, we have spent thousands of hours connecting our hands in conversation to create what you see as Imagined Touch. Through our investigations, we asked, "How do we remain connected with the audience at all times? Is touch the most important sense? How do we awaken the audience's senses to the primal mode of touch as communication? I hope through this film, this offers audiences an insight like no other. With my personal experience growing up in a Deaf family and also living with a disability, it has been an absolute honour to be one of the custodians of this story and to finally be able to share Imagined Touch with audiences beyond the theatre.