The Tuba Thieves (UK Premiere)

Between 2011 and 2013 there was a spate of robberies from the music departments of Los Angeles high schools.

This minor news story was a catalyst for d/Deaf filmmaker Alison O’Daniel, as she began to explore how sound – and the absence of sound – affects our relationship with cities.

The result is a poetic piece of docufiction which roams across LA, weaving multiple threads around the central figure of Nyke (Nyeisha Prince): forest fires, flight paths, radio signals, Latino music. It’s a pleasure to see sign language and captions integrated in such creative ways. The film is punctuated by recreations of landmark concerts including a gig at the San Francisco Deaf Club – briefly the epicentre of the Bay Area punk scene – and a surprise performance that Prince gave at Gallaudet University for the deaf.

Asked why Prince played there, a student responds: “he just gets that everyone likes music.”