Kumu Documentary: Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Any More
Dir Shoshannah Stern
USA 2025, 96 min
In English and English Sign Language, with SDH subtitles in English
Introduction by Sirle Papp, the chairman of the Estonian Association of the Deaf.
After becoming the first deaf actor to win an Academy Award, at just 21, Marlee Matlin found herself thrust into the limelight as a trailblazer. Here, she looks back on a rich and tumultuous life.
In 1987, Matlin ‒ more recently seen in the Best Picture-winner “CODA” – won the Best Actress Oscar for her screen debut, starring opposite William Hurt in the romantic drama Children of a Lesser God. In this powerful biographical documentary by Shoshannah Stern – herself a deaf actor – Matlin looks back on her rise to fame, and how she channelled her sudden success into advocating for accessibility while pursuing a performing arts career. She candidly shares her struggles with addiction, childhood experiences of sexual abuse and her tumultuous romantic relationship with Hurt, as well as her ongoing advocacy for the disabled community, both on- and off-screen.
