Portal U de A

By: Paula Villa Arteaga, journalist at UdeA Communications Department 

After two months, 85 hours of recording, and 77 hours of post-production, UdeA professionals reached a milestone for the city and the country: the dubbing into Colombian Sign Language (LSC) of the Spanish film My Name Is Gennet. The project involved 10 translators and 20 deaf and hearing interpreters, who brought more than 20 characters to life. The launch took place during the opening of Medellín's first Ciclo de Cine Inclusivo (Inclusive Film Cycle).  

Medellín's first Inclusive Film Cycle marks a milestone in cultural access for people with sensory disabilities. During the opening event, more than 400 attendees enjoyed the premiere of My Name Is Gennet, the first film dubbed in Colombian Sign Language. Universidad de Antioquia’s School of Languages and the Sign Language Translation and Interpretation Service (SETI) carried out the process. 

The production took two months, with 85 hours of recording and 77 hours of post-production. Ten translators and 20 interpreters, both deaf and hearing, participated and brought more than 20 characters to life. This is the first time sign language dubbing has been done in Colombia. "The University has taken a historic step by connecting deaf translators in audiovisual environments," emphasized Santiago Parra Gil, SETI coordinator. 

The Spanish film, directed by Miguel Ángel Tobías, tells the story of an Ethiopian woman who became the first deafblind and anosmic—with a complete loss of smell—person to earn a European university degree. Released in 2018, the film chronicles the realities of famine, migration, and disability in various educational, domestic, cultural, and work environments since the late 1990s. 

According to Santiago Parra, dubbing was a major challenge because sign language is a living language and very different from Spanish. "The value of this production lies in the fact that deaf professionals participated in all production and post-production stages, which enabled a rigorous translation into LSC, capable of answering questions such as: What does the film's music convey? How can we bring the audience closer to a different cultural context in which the meaning of everyday life changes?" he explained. 

For Luis Forero, interpreter and production leader, this was an innovative proposal due to its linguistic richness and the diverse skills of the team, made up of both deaf and hearing people, which allowed for constant feedback and growth. "In Colombia, there are many Colombian Sign Language variations, both in rural and urban settings. All these experiences led to the emergence of different forms of storytelling that helped convey the message to other audiences," he said. 

Forero, who also belongs to the deaf community, emphasized that the lessons learned during production were significant. "Touching cinema through sign language, conveying emotion, translating metaphors from a spoken language, and, at times, translating a melody into sign language was a great challenge and, at the same time, an invaluable experience." 

An interdisciplinary team of 10 translators and 20 interpreters, both deaf and hearing, from UdeA participated in dubbing the Spanish film My Name Is Gennet into Colombian Sign Language.  

A work articulated by inclusion 

Cinema is a dream factory that awakens all senses. Imagine walking into a theater and not hearing the music or dialogue, or only seeing silent gestures from the actors on screen. This is the reality for thousands of people in Colombia and around the world, for whom culture remains an inaccessible right. 

According to figures from DANE and the Ministry of Health, approximately 555,000 people in the country have hearing disabilities, and around 56,000 are deafblind. With the first dubbing into Colombian Sign Language, a way is paved for Colombia's cinema to become a shared right and an inclusive sensory experience. 

Medellín's Inclusive Film Cycle, a joint effort between UdeA, Fundación EPM, Cinemateca Municipal and Corporación La Rueda Flotante, will feature screenings of other films such as My Name is Gennet, What Do Your Eyes Sound Like?, and Deaf.  

The initiative will run until December and offer seven free spaces that incorporate sign language, adapted subtitles, audio descriptions, live interpreters during presentations and discussions, guided sensory experiences that invite the audience to put themselves in the shoes of others, and immersive activities designed to enhance emotional and collective participation. 

Universidad de Antioquia has been working on this. I won't say it's the only one, but it has taken the first step in hiring and employing a team of deaf and hearing translators, and the results have been phenomenal. We've seen the challenges that deaf people face in having their language recognized, and this work model can be replicated; it can serve as a model for others to follow. We look forward to collaborating on different projects and proposals that emerge in the city," concluded Santiago Parra. 

The next screenings of the cycle will be: 

• What Do Your Eyes Sound Like? With audio description, Colombian Sign Language (LSC), and a guided sensory experience on Thursday, October 16, at 4:00 pm at Centro Colombo Americano. 

• My name is Gennet, with LSC dubbing, on Thursday, December 4, at the UdeA Extension Building (time to be confirmed). 

• Deaf, a Spanish film, with location and time yet to be defined. 

Check out the full schedule here: https://bit.ly/inclusive-cinema-programming