The Tuba Thieves

A sonic sensation at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, this experimental mix of documentary, recreation (cast with Deaf performers), and essay uses a series of Los Angeles high school tuba thefts as a jumping-off point to skillfully explore the ways in which we engage with sound, music, and speech. —M.G.

Loosely hung on the backdrop of a string of tuba burglaries from high schools in Southern California, THE TUBA THIEVES is not a whodunnit crime documentary; instead it is an artistic encounter with the Deaf experience. The score of Los Angeles’ urban soundscape sets the tone, reverberating steady highway hums, jarring airplane flyovers, and wildfire-fighting helicopters overhead. Interspersed are stories of Nyke, a Deaf drummer, and Geovanny, a hearing marching band student, as they navigate their day to day, peppered with reenactments of lesser-known “silent” concerts throughout history. Exceptionally enlightening, this rare perspective illustrates how the world is constantly communicating. From this unique purview, audiences are challenged to take a closer look at the details surrounding them and reevaluate their own definition of listening. —A.B.

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