#deaftravel: Deaf Tourism in Bali
This ethnographic film explores the experiences of deaf tourists who visited Bali as solo travelers, in pairs, or in groups, in the summer of 2018. The tourists originated from Europe, the USA, and India. They joined tours guided by two deaf tour guides, Wahyu and Gio, whose quite different backgrounds inform their styles of guiding and the travel itineraries they design. The deaf tourists and guides used a range of sign languages, including International Sign. The film shows how they learn and use International Sign, BISINDO (Indonesian Sign Language), and snippets of other sign languages; and how they use gestures with hearing Indonesians. The tour guides, tourists and Balinese deaf people reflect on the ethics of tourists visiting deaf schools and a “deaf village” in north Bali, where Kata Kolok, a hyper-local sign language is used. The film ends with a reflection on various forms of mobilities within Bali and throughout the world.
Trailer: