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ACADEMY AWARD WINS FOR 'CODA' BRING ELATION, SPARK AWARENESS FOR DEAF COMMUNITY

CODA lands three Academy Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with wins for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Siân Heder. The winners were revealed at the 94th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on March 27th.

CODA was named Best Picture, star Troy Kotsur took home Best Supporting Actor, and writer-director Siân Heder accepted Best Adapted Screenplay as history was made at the 94th Academy Awards in late March. CODA is the first motion picture starring a predominantly deaf cast to win an Oscar, Troy Kotsur is the first deaf male actor to receive an Oscar and CODA is the first film released by a streaming service to win an Academy Award.

CODA premiered at Sundance Film Festival last year, where Apple bought the distribution rights and went on to make the film publicly available on their own streaming service in August. The film tells the coming-of-age story of Ruby Rossi as the only hearing member of a deaf family living in Massachusetts. “CODA” stands for “child of deaf adult(s).”

CODA's Academy Awards success punctuates an incredibly successful awards season and, while CODA is clearly critically acclaimed, the film has also been highly regarded by the deaf community for its unprecedented and refreshingly authentic representation. The representation of deaf people, and disabled people more generally, has been problematic in film and television over the years, relying on cliched performances by non-disabled actors, or overly broad or inaccurate depictions.

"People think that deaf people are monolithic in terms of how NOW HEAR THIS: Troy Kotsur is the second deaf actor to win an Oscar for playing a deaf character. Previously, Marlee Matlin won for her leading role in Children Of A Lesser God. they approach life. And this film bursts that myth," says Marlee Matlin, the first deaf star to be cast in the film. Matlin made her feelings on representation clear from the beginning: she insisted on working with deaf actors, or she wouldn't participate.

In his acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor, Troy Kotsur also recognized the importance of representation in CODA. Thanking the most formative institutions in his career, Kotsur is amazed at the film’s reach. “It’s amazing that our film has reached out worldwide… [and] I want to thank all of the wonderful deaf theater stages, where I was allowed and given the opportunity to develop my craft as an actor,” Kotsur said. He brought home a BAFTA Award, SAG Award, Film Independent Spirit Award, and Critic’s Choice Award in the Supporting Actor category in addition to the Academy Award.

Kotsur thanked writer-director Siân Heder for her role in creating an authentic connection between the deaf and hearing worlds. "[Siân Heder] brought the deaf world and the hearing world together… and [her] name will forever be on that bridge," said Kotsur.

In Heder's acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay, she thanked her collaborators in the deaf and CODA communities for being her teachers in bringing this film to life. "Writing and making this movie was truly life changing, as an artist and as a human being," professed Heder. She admits it wasn't an easy process, simultaneously thanking Sundance and Apple for their part in bringing the independent film to a global audience.