From The Passion of the Christ to The Chosen, we’ve all seen a lot of Jesus on the big and small screen, but you’ve never seen a Jesus like this. In a new movie releasing in theaters this week, Gideon Firl doesn’t say a word in the film as the son of Nazareth. Neither does anyone else. In fact, not a word is spoken in JESUS. It’s the first full-length movie about Jesus that was made by deaf people for a deaf audience. All of the actors involved are fluent in American Sign Language.
This isn’t to say that hearing people won’t enjoy JESUS: A Deaf Missions Film. The film does feature a music soundtrack and English subtitles, but audiences who can hear just might have to adjust their expectations a bit; something producer and director Joseph D. Josselyn knows all too well.
“Why is the JESUS movie in sign language so important to the deaf community?” Josselyn asks in a short YouTube video to promote the movie. “Deaf people, including myself, often watch movies where the actors speak and we must rely on the captions. Because of this, we don’t have the same connection with the film as a hearing person.”
This isn’t Josselyn’s first foray into moviemaking. In 2018, he was the producer for the deaf movie, The Book of Job. Before that, he produced 25 episodes of the children’s series, Dr. Wonder’s Workshop from 2007-2009 which featured an ensemble cast of deaf actors and included sign songs, bible stories and object lessons. But JESUS is his biggest project to date.
In 2019, he and his crew made the short film Uncondemned as a trial to see how audiences would respond to a deaf movie about Jesus.
“The short was filmed entirely in sign language, the heart language of deaf people,” says Josselyn. “Over 250,000 people have viewed it on Facebook and YouTube.”
While critics haven’t had their say just yet, JESUS boasts of a 100% “fresh” audience score from Rotten Tomatoes.
JESUS is produced by the international Christian ministry, Deaf Missions, which has been around since 1970. The ministry reaches out to over 100 countries through 60 denominations. In 2020, Deaf Missions were the first of any sign language to produce a full translation of the bible. Four years later, they are bringing the story of Jesus from a deaf perspective.
Main Image: Deaf Missions
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