This article was written for our sponsor, Gig East.
On the heels of CODA — a film centered on a hearing teenager in a deaf family — winning Best Picture at the Oscars, accessibility has entered the national conversation in a major way — and for filmmaker Cat Brewer, this conversation is long overdue.
Brewer is the mind behind “Sign the Show,” a documentary focused on deaf culture as it relates to entertainment. Inspired by interpreters at concerts, she started producing the movie in 2014 and wrapped it up in 2021.
“It was really a passion project — honestly, my whole thought was, ‘Okay, I’m going to make this movie in 30 days, then return the camera that I bought so I can save some money.’ But I had to persevere, which I think is a key quality for any entrepreneur or artist,” said Brewer. “I wanted to take it to high school and college campuses across the U.S. and talk about accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing community. We can make changes in this country not only in entertainment, but also in our daily lives in order to make things more accessible for underserved populations.”
While Brewer spent much of her time working on the film in the Bay Area, she moved to Wilson during COVID-19 to help take care of a family member.
For her, the unique environment in Wilson was an immediate draw. After getting involved with the local arts council, she stumbled upon the coworking space at the Gig East Exchange.
“I needed a coffee and someone recommended Larema Coffee — I walked into the building and was like, ‘What is this place?’ I fell in love,” said Brewer. “There was diversity, and it was warm and welcoming. I saw some guy who I thought worked there, but he was just a member, and I thought he was giving a tour. He was just showing his family around, but he let me join. Everyone there had this infectious positivity that permeated the entirety of Gig East.”
At the time, Brewer was teaching online and needed a space where she could work and access reliable internet. Gig East fit the bill and helped her meet people around the community.
“I use the word magical to describe the space because that’s really what it seems like. I was able to connect with people, and it was great networking — not just for my business but personally as well, because you never know who you’re going to meet. In addition to meeting people as they come in and out, there are also great networking opportunities that Gig East provides,” said Brewer. “I actually spoke at one of the events and got a warm reception, and that further reinforced how much I love it here. I moved closer to Downtown and now I’m even more immersed in the arts community and still have my space at the Exchange.”
Every year, Gig East hosts a summit highlighting the work that local innovators and leaders are doing in the community and beyond. At this year’s summit in May, Brewer was asked to speak on the Ecosystem Success Stories Panel, detailing her work in the arts and the journey of making her film.
Coming from two decades of teaching, Brewer hopes to emphasize that anyone, from any background, has the potential to create engaging art.
“I am a non-traditional entrepreneur, so it’s a little weird for me to even identify myself as a filmmaker — I view myself as a teacher because that’s what I’ve done for 22 years, and producing and directing a film was just another platform for me to teach. Now I do all these little part-time jobs to sustain my art,” said Brewer. “If you share your story, you can potentially change someone’s life. I’d heard people speak before and been motivated and inspired by them, so hopefully, I can do the same for people at the summit.”
In addition to the summit, Brewer is also preparing to take her movie on the festival circuit, with stops across North Carolina, as well as New York, Ohio, Texas and more. She’s already shown the film to a handful of focus groups, as well as at a festival in Santa Fe.
Brewer hopes to see her film get wider distribution, but already it’s making waves in the film community.
“At the first festival I went to, there was a lack of access for deaf and hard of hearing people — there were no interpreters, and none of the other films had captions or subtitles. I had a heart-to-heart talk with the festival producers, and after the festival, they emailed me saying, ‘I want you to know that we took your message to heart, and we’re making changes for next year’s festival and are asking filmmakers to include caption files,’” said Brewer. “If I can make one little change like that and continue to make changes at every festival, then I’ll know the journey has been totally worth it.”
This article was written for our sponsor, Gig East.
