The film, written and directed by Siân Heder ("Tallulah") is the story of 17-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones), the hearing child of deaf parents (Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur), who's caught between helping her family's fledgling fish business in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and pursuing her singing aspirations in college. It premiered Thursday night at the Sundance Film Festival.
Propelled by its powerful inclusivity of the deaf community, it's a refreshing reboot of the traditional teen romance and coming-of-age story. Think how "Love, Simon" gave the LGBTQ community its cliché, cute teen movie. "CODA" — which stands for child of deaf adults, and coincidentally is a musical term — begs you to pay attention to deaf culture, and rightly so.
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