About this Short Film
Deaf Roomate, directed by David Levy (Canada, 2026), follows a young-adult narrator who becomes convinced his roommate — described as deaf — is secretly pretending to hear. Played as a dark comedy of suspicion and miscommunication, the short examines how perception, assumptions and small cruelties shape everyday relationships when silence is read as deceit. Levy keeps the tone nervy and comic rather than didactic, inviting audiences to laugh while squirming at the characters’ escalating paranoia and casual ableist remarks. The film will appeal to young-adult viewers and festival audiences interested in sensory disability, social dynamics and the ethics of gossip; it provides a concise, provocative conversation starter for screenings at the Focus on Ability festival.
Film Details
Film Transcript
Hey, man. Is your roommate okay? Yeah, he's fine. He's actually deaf. No small talk or anything? No. Hey, how's your day? What's going on? Oh, nothing. Kind of a dream though. I mean, my roommate just sits at home and talks about his crypto portfolio. My roommate is so annoying. I literally fake a disability just for some peace and quiet. Fair enough. It was a stupid joke. But once the thought was there, I couldn't unthink it. Was my roommate pretending to be deaf?
I should have read the signs. I couldn't trust my ears. Hey, David. Or is he going to do the dishes you left in the sink? Was he silencing me to get out of chores? It didn't sound right. I needed the truth. Every silence began to feel like a lie.
Why would a deaf man eat AirPods? I can't hear. Maybe they were a gift. They're liveless. They don't understand. They were charged. The little green light was on. Why would he charge something you can't even use? Because there's accessibility features on AirPods now. Does he not hear me? Because he can't or because he won't? I needed to go for a drive. Like in the movie Drive.
Hello, David. You and I both know you heard that. I hate you. Maybe his ears work a little bit, like partial hearing. You're not seeing it. His ears are fine. Don't you think you're being a little irrational? How can you laugh at the show when the captions aren't even on? Liberty, you're not hearing me, man. He's watching it raw. He knows what he is doing, getting inside my head. But I know who he really is: a nondeaf person. Was he faking because he doesn't like me? Because definitely I know you can hear me.
You need help. Leo, he's lying to us. You know, maybe you're the one who's deaf — deaf because you won't listen to me. I'll be at my mother's. He can hear us. She's listening right now. Okay, listen to this. I'm leaving you. I know you hear me. Whatever. We're getting evicted anyway. You can hear. No, I knew it.
Filmmaker
David Levy is the filmmaker behind this entry. See every Focus on Ability entry from David Levy.
