Melissa Mostyn is a writer, blogger, arts practitioner and mum-of-two. 'My grand passion is freedom of creative expression and it is this that drives my diverse love of the arts and media, taking in visual art, theatre, film, journalism, books and TV.' She often explores themes of communication, disability/deafness and human relationships in her work.

Melissa Mostyn thinks reverse psychology could be the way to go

23 July 2010

Blog

Whatever we think of The Silence (see DAO review), at least it has given me a little more film-maker’s insight into how some hearing people might still perceive deaf people. Not that I lack first-hand experience, of course. I am, after all, part of the 90% born to hearing families. But the BBC’s attempts to portray Deaf Culture as a silent world has actually got me dancing about the reverse psychology that I want to apply to my story. If sound is a means of access, then it’s...

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Melissa Mostyn gets a few words of advice, while her muse becomes disabled

6 July 2010

Blog

I cannot help but laugh at the irony of what I am about to write. Isobel, my muse, has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It is a peculiar twist of fate that the main source of inspiration for my project – and the biggest impetus for a DAO blog – should herself be disabled. Suddenly the term ‘deaf and disabled’ takes on a whole new spin. That is not to say, of course, that the film concept is invalid. (Basically, it’s an experimental drama that contrasts two...

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Melissa Mostyn pitches at Deaffest

18 June 2010

Blog

Last month saw me pitching for the 2010 Ben Steiner Bursary - a sum of £5000 awarded to a Deaf film-maker to make a 15-minute film in time for Deaffest 2011 at Wolverhampton's Lighthouse. Aside from pitching to a judging panel of four, Dragon's Den-style, in an unusual twist we had to present our pitches as a 5-minute subtitled film instead of doing it live. The reason? A live audience would be watching that and the judges' interviews afterwards. Scary! Obviously people...

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Melissa Mostyn's film project: How it began

15 June 2010

Blog

Isobel has been melting hearts ever since she was born. She has occupied my mind ever since she began occupying my womb.  Isobel is my muse and the inspiration for my new venture. At 37 weeks pregnant I began creating a six-week video strand, The Baby Diaries, for BBC TV’s See Hear, and with it I began to ponder what it would be like for her to grow up in a deaf household if she was hearing (a good possibility, given that my deafness is not hereditary).  My...

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