In the first trailer for Sian Heder’s inspiring coming-of-age story “CODA,” we meet a teenage girl who pursues her dream of singing while working with and caring for her deaf family. (“CODA” stands for child of deaf adults.)
The film wowed audiences at Sundance, sweeping the audience award and the jury prize and getting scooped up by Apple in a record deal out of the festival. Now, the film is about to burst into the mainstream in a big way. “CODA” stars real deaf actors, including Oscar winner Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant as the film’s deaf family, alongside hearing actress Emilia Jones.
The movie was praised by critics for its authenticity and attention to detail in depicting the deaf community. And the trailer for “CODA,” released Thursday, features primarily ASL in its dialogue and shows how expressive and hilarious all of the film’s deaf talent are.
“CODA” stars Jones as a teenager who, despite her family’s uncertainty, decides to try out for the school choir. Inspired by her teacher (Eugenio Derbez) and a cute classmate (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), she makes an effort to continue singing even as she finds herself torn between her passion and her responsibilities to her family.
“CODA” is based an original screenplay from Heder. The film was originally a French movie called “The Bélier Family” from 2014, though Heder’s film actually uses deaf talent rather than hearing actors playing deaf.
Apple will release “CODA” via Apple TV+ and in theaters on Aug. 13. See the first trailer above, and check out TheWrap’s interview with the cast and filmmakers of the movie out of Sundance here.