A young woman with a gift for singing finds herself torn between family duty and pursuing her dreams in Director Siân Heder’s drama, CODA.
Heder’s film tells the story of Ruby, a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) who is the only hearing person in her family and serves as their interpreter. When the family’s fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her deaf parents and brother.
On September 26, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Heder discussed the making of CODA during a Q&A moderated by Director Suzi Yoonessi (Unlovable).
When the conversation veered to the subject of working with actors, Heder explained why she thinks all Directors should take an acting class.
“Nothing will teach you about how it feels to be an actor like acting and being on the other side of it. It’s very vulnerable. That’s the thing that I always hold on to as a Director. It doesn’t matter how successful someone is or how skilled someone is, it’s a very vulnerable experience to act.”
Heder’s other directorial credits include the feature film, Tallulah; and episodes of The Path, GLOW, Orange Is the New Black, Queen Fur and Little America. She has been a DGA member since 2016.
You can listen to Heder's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.