Signs from the Mainland

documentary short

Starting as far back as the early 1700s, genetic deafness took a foothold on Martha’s Vineyard where as many as one in four residents were deaf and a majority of hearing residents also were able to communicate in what is considered one of the precursors to modern American Sign Language.

Signs from the Mainland explores the deeper meaning and lessons to be learned from this unique enclave where deaf and hearing individuals coexisted seamlessly. Through interviews with historians, community members, and experts, the documentary reflects on the legacy of the MV Deaf community, the implications for the broader society, and its relevance to contemporary conversations about inclusivity and diversity.

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Michael Cestaro (Director/Editor) is a filmmaker with over 15 years of experience and a graduate of Berklee College of Music. Known for a unique voice that brings marginalized communities and overlooked stories to the forefront, they have made waves with two award-winning short films, including White Space, which premiered at the Provincetown and San Diego Film Festivals. Their work spans independent storytelling and commercial film, seamlessly blending artistic exploration with mainstream appeal.

Cecilia Parker (Producer) is a New York based artist. She is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama and a minor in Arts Business. She has worked as a producer, actor, marketing associate, and ensemble member in many capacities. She has produced the Twenty Summers arts festival in Provincetown, MA for five years. Other notable producing credits include Nukhu Fest and the Deep Water Literary Festival. She is a studio manager at the Alvin Ailey Dance Studios, having also toured with Ailey II as ASM as well as a founding producer of the East Village Comedy Extravaganza and Cackling Hags. Producer credits include short films We’re Still Here,Vagababy, Either/Or and Edinburgh Fringe premiere of If I Only Could.

Jeffrey Mansfield (Key Cast) is a design director at MASS Design Group and a Ford-Mellon Disability Futures fellow, whose work explores the relationships between architecture, landscape, and power. Jeffrey is a recipient of a Graham Foundation grant and a John W. Kluge Fellowship at the Library of Congress for his work on Architecture of Deafness, which explores how Deaf schools and other Deaf Spaces emerged as sites of cultural resistance. Jeffrey holds a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and an AB in Architecture from Princeton University. Deaf since birth, Jeffrey is a Yonsei, or fourth-generation, Japanese American, and attended a deaf school in Massachusetts, where his earliest intuitions about the relationship between aesthetics, geography, and power emerged.

Support for this project provided by Expanding Massachusetts Stories, an initiative of Mass Humanities.