THE TUBA THIEVES

In the organizer's words:

USA 2023, documentary. 91 min.

Directed by Alison O'Daniel.

Language: OmU (English with German subtitles for people with impaired hearing).

A series of tuba thefts that took place in Californian schools ten years ago is the starting point for a multi-layered and amusing reflection on sounds and music, how they are reflected in images and how they can be described in words. The artist Alison O'Daniel tells the story from the perspective of deaf people; her film resembles a musical composition that varies its theme in several movements.

In one sequence, the swelling noise of a passenger plane can be heard as it flies at low altitude over a residential area, gradually drowning out the wind noise before its shadow flits over the houses and only then can the source of the noise itself be seen. The subtitles, an integral part of this film, not only describe the sounds with astonishing precision, but also quantify their sound pressure in decibels.

The alternation of passages with and without sound motivates us to perceive in a more differentiated, concentrated and targeted way. The motif of hearing, of sounds, of acoustic pollution is at the center of the film, more than the narrative of the mysteriously disappeared tubas, and more than the impressive protagonist Nyeisha "Nyke" Prince, who embodies a deaf drummer in "The Tuba Thieves". The tuba theft is above all a metaphor: what does the absence of a sound do to perception?

ENG: A series of tuba thefts that occurred ten years ago at Californian schools is the starting point of a multilayered and entertaining reflection about sounds and music, how they are represented in images and described in words. The artist Alison O'Daniel tells the story from the perspective of Deaf people; her film resembles a musical composition that varies its material in several movements.

In one sequence we hear the swelling drone of a passenger plane flying at low altitude over a residential area and gradually drowning out the sounds of the wind before we first see its shadow glide over the houses and at last the source of the noise. The subtitles, an integral part of this film, not only describe the sounds in amazing precision but also quantify their acoustic pressure in decibels.

Alternating between passages with and without sound motivates us to be more differentiated, focused, targeted in our perception. The film revolves around the motifs of hearing, sounds, noise pollution more than around the narrative of the mysteriously vanished tubas, more even than around the impressive protagonist Nyeisha "Nyke" Prince who plays a Deaf drummer in "The Tuba Thieves." The tuba thefts are first and foremost a metaphor: What does the lack of a specific sound do to our perception? (English with German subtitles for deaf and hard-of-hearing, English)

Text: DOK Leipzig

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