Song of the Hands

'Song of the Hands' is a 92-minute documentary feature and musical drama directed by María Valverde that explores a deeply artistic, human, social, and innovative experience. It consists of the adaptation of the opera Fidelio by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven into sign language, performed by people with hearing disabilities.

The film delves into a unique creative process that explores the possibility of showing how a classical work, traditionally linked to sound, can be transformed into a visual and bodily experience capable of conveying emotion, rhythm, and meaning beyond the audible, which turns it into a sound art for the deaf community.

The documentary reveals the difficulties, challenges, and discoveries that arise when reinterpreting an opera from a visual language. Hands, body, and facial expressions become essential instruments, capable of translating not only the words but also the emotional intensity and dramatic force of the work.

At the same time, the documentary gives voice to the personal experiences of its protagonists, who reflect on the lack of accessibility in the cultural world and the historical exclusion of deaf people from the musical realm. These reflections give the documentary a social and advocacy dimension, inviting the viewer to question the limits imposed on art and communication.

The project culminates with the final performance of Fidelio, presented not only as an artistic achievement but as a symbolic act of inclusion.