Photo courtesy of Antoinette Abbamonte
The 20th Ashland Independent Film Festival kicked off earlier this month, with one movie shining bright among the others. “Since August” is a film about grief, life, forgiveness, and the strength of the human spirit in the process of moving on. In an interview with one of its stars, Antoinette Abbamonte, she discusses her inspiration for the film and her character Vedette, a deaf woman grieving a very personal loss.
First, I’d like to cover your advocacy of the non-hearing community. You’ve lobbied for more accessible closed captions, the inclusion and casting of deaf actors and actresses in film and theatre, and been a board member with Women in Film, advocating to directors and producers for diversity and the inclusion of actors with disabilities. You even run your own production company, Mermaid Signature Production. Are there any advocacy projects you’re working on right now, in the wake of filming “Since August”?