The “Gesto” project promotes inclusive access to cinema for deaf and hard-of-hearing people by screening short films with Portuguese Sign Language interpretation and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. The program also includes conversations with filmmakers, moderated by deaf activist Ângelo Matos, creating spaces for participation and dialogue within the deaf community.

The initiative aims to address the barriers that continue to limit this community’s access to cinema, advocating for cultural accessibility as a fundamental right and a responsibility of cultural institutions. Beyond technical inclusion, the project values Deaf culture as a distinct way of experiencing and interpreting cinema, promoting the recognition of the Deaf audience as an active part of cultural life.

Organized by Cooperativa Curtas Metragens CRL, the program is coordinated by Maria Moreira, head of the Communities Department and a member of the festival team who is deaf in one ear due to sensorineural hearing loss. Her personal experience reinforces the project’s commitment to developing cultural initiatives that are more accessible and better represent the needs of the Deaf community.