American Masters
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Marlee Matlin, the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award, looks back on her remarkable life, career, and the complexities of being the “first.”
Living Dictionary
Living Dictionary explores the breadth of cultures and the depth of meaning found in ‘untranslatable’ words from different languages.
- Length
- 8 episodes x 1 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Short-Form Open Call
Producer/Director
Laura Garber
Laura Garber is a filmmaker and dancer physically living in Los Angeles and mentally living on a tropical island. Her video work infuses poetry, community, and mundane beauty whenever possible. Laura obtained a master's degree from UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism in 2023. She is from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
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The Film
Living Dictionary explores the diverse languages found in California, focusing on 'untranslatable' words from varied cultures and the insights embodied in each one. Each episode in the series features different community members, ranging from poets to chefs to musicians, who share a word from their language that inspires them and provides a window into their ethos. A single word contains multitudes, revealing nuance and complexity while offering wisdom and perspective that lend to the human experience.
This series honors the values of assorted cultures within a nation where over 350 languages are spoken or signed. Living Dictionary traverses the California landscape, creating a visual vocabulary of Indigenous, minor, and widely spoken languages. From the grace of the Hawaiian language to the rhythms of Amharic and the lyricism of Vietnamese, the series celebrates language, meaning, and the communities that breathe life into words.
