launching 10th February 2025

Huddle

Avni Dauti & Rebecca Dauti

a new artist commission by MAP Co & recess

playing at Federation Square, Narrm Melbourne,

screening each evening 7 - 8pm, 2025 - 2027

Huddle revisits the historical significance of Deaf huddling, a formation devised by Gallaudet University’s Deaf gridiron team in the 1890s to create a protected, visual space for sign language, shielded from the gaze of the opposing team. In the film, Deaf performers gather tightly, exchanging thoughts on visibility, privacy, and the dynamics of watching and being watched. In Deaf and hearing worlds, these dynamics manifest differently, revealing the huddle as a site where cultural, social, and spatial production converge to create a unique Deaf space.

The film explores huddling as practice of resilience, agency, and communal protection, forming a space where Deaf individuals cultivate both protection and visibility. In the film the viewer is offered moments of intimacy within the circle that alternate with denied access, embodying the dynamic role of Deaf spaces, where embodied interactions can cultivate zones of connection and shared consciousness. Huddle offers a glimpse into the ways in which Deaf bodies actively shape spaces that resist intrusion and provide sanctuary—a testament to the self-defined and resilient boundaries of Deaf experience.

About the artists:
Avni & Rebecca Dauti are Naarm/Melbourne-based artists whose practice over the past seven years has primarily engaged with film to explore Deaf history. Their work emerges from long-term collaborations with Deaf communities worldwide, and has also taken the form of collaborative research projects, lectures, and film programs, through which they engage with topics such as cultural memory, Deaf studies, language, and practices of translation. Their work has been presented at institutions both nationally and internationally, including the Wellcome Collection in London, the National Museum of Art in Lithuania, Composite Moving Image in Naarm/Melbourne, ACE Gallery in Adelaide, and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and V-A-C in Moscow. They have also presented their work in international film festivals and participated in academic conferences, including Deaf History International and Viittomakielinen filmifestivaali.

Cast and Crew:

Performers:
Joanna Agius
Melissa Anderson
Salomon Gerber
Natalie Sandon-Stanhope
Franco Spadea
Elise Stewart
Tony Tran

Written and Directed by
Avni Dauti and Rebecca Dauti

Producer
Olivia Koh

Director of Photography
Tavis Pinnington

Gaffer
Hamish Rayner

Assistant Camera Operators
Eiman Khairudin
Arandarga Lubis

Production Assistants
Spring Lee
Anaya Sandon-Gould

Commissioned by MAP Co & recess 2024 - 2025