(TEANECK, NJ) -- The Teaneck International Film Festival, the Puffin Cultural Forum, and PBS Indie Lens Pop-Up, present a free and unique online experience on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 7:30pm, when a captioned film is presented:  The Tuba Thieves. The film asks the question: What does it mean to listen? An exploration of musicality set against a theft.

Hard of hearing filmmaker Alison O’Daniel uses a series of tuba thefts in Los Angeles high schools as a jumping-off point to explore these questions. Through several d/Deaf people telling stories in a unique game of telephone, the central mystery of The Tuba Thieves isn’t about theft of instruments; it’s about the nature of sound itself.

The film is captioned, and the talkbacks will be signed (ASL). There will be live conversation on Zoom and opportunities for questions and discussion with director Allison O’Daniel in between excerpts from the film. Free tickets are available here.

The Tuba Thieves was written and directed by Alison O'Daniel. It was produced by Alison O'Daniel, Rachel Nederveld, Su Kim, and Maya E. Rudolph.

Director Alison O’Daniel is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Included in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, she’s a recipient of Louis Comfort Tiffany and Creative Capital Awards. Represented by Commonwealth and Council, she is an assistant professor of film at California College of the Arts.

Included in the program will be another NJPBS short:  21 – Gloucester County, highlighting Anna Baldwin, who “embraced her journey with Tourette Syndrome and has been educating others about it since her diagnosis in sixth grade.”

The film will be dedicated to Patricia Phillips (shown below), beloved Teaneck resident and Executive Director of NJ Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders (NJCTS) who died recently. Mark your calendar, reserve your spot, and plan to participate in this unusual program on May 1st.

“These Indie Lens Pop-Up Screenings are what makes INDEPENDENT LENS so unique—not only do we get to premiere these films on public media, but through this national screening series, we are able to inspire meaningful conversations on the ground in local communities across the U.S.,” said Beatriz Castillo, senior director of engagement operations at ITVS. “Through our screenings, we hope people from all facets of life find themselves in these films, and encourage everyone to share their stories and engage in thoughtful conversations in a safe, inclusive environment.”

Indie Lens Pop-Up events provide a space to watch and discuss timely issues explored in its award-winning documentaries. Hundreds of these events are hosted in-person and virtually by partners across the nation. Since its inception in 2005, more than 7,000 Indie Lens Pop-Up events have brought an estimated 420,000 participants together to discuss issues that impact local communities.

The Tuba Thieves is the fourth and final screening of the Teaneck International Film Festival's fourth virtual season of Indie Lens Pop-Up in partnership with The Puffin Cultural Forum and NJ PBS.

Jeremy Lentz, Executive Director of The Teaneck International Film Festival said, "These films empower our community to come together and talk about topics that might be otherwise difficult to discuss with one another. With this continued partnership, we’re not only able to watch films from the award-winning INDEPENDENT LENS series, but we also create open, safe forums to talk about important issues affecting our neighborhoods today, hopefully providing useful resources for those who need them.  We are also proud to work with our local NJ PBS affiliate on showcasing a new season of the NJ 21 short series which spotlights local stories from New Jersey's 21 diverse counties.  These shorts will be paired with the INDEPENDENT LENS feature films.  The screenings are free and virtual which means you can watch from the comfort of your home anywhere in the United States.  You can sign up for the screenings through our website at TeaneckFilmFestival.org"