Huddle

Watch the premiere of a new screen commission, Huddle, which explores the practice of Deaf huddling – the community co-creation of protected space.

Huddle revisits the historical significance of Deaf huddling, a formation devised by Gallaudet University’s Deaf gridiron team in the 1890s to create a protected, visual space for sign language, shielded from the gaze of the opposing team. In the film, Deaf performers gather tightly, exchanging thoughts on visibility, privacy, and the dynamics of watching and being watched. In Deaf and hearing worlds, these dynamics manifest differently, revealing the huddle as a site where cultural, social, and spatial production converge to create a unique Deaf space.

The film explores huddling as practice of resilience, agency, and communal protection, forming a space where Deaf individuals cultivate both protection and visibility. In the film the viewer is offered moments of intimacy within the circle that alternate with denied access, embodying the dynamic role of Deaf spaces, where embodied interactions can cultivate zones of connection and shared consciousness. Huddle offers a glimpse into the ways in which Deaf bodies actively shape spaces that resist intrusion and provide sanctuary—a testament to the self-defined and resilient boundaries of Deaf experience.

Huddle will screen each evening on the Big Screen from 13 January, as part of Open Air at the Square.

Huddle has been co-commissioned by Fed Square and RECESS, as part of Open Air at the Square.

About the artists:

Avni and Rebecca Dauti are Naarm/ Melbourne-based artists whose practice over the past seven years has primarily engaged with film to explore Deaf history. Their work emerges from long-term collaborations with Deaf communities worldwide, and has also taken the form of collaborative research projects, lectures, and film programs, through which they engage with topics such as cultural memory, Deaf studies, language, and practices of translation. Their work has been presented at institutions both nationally and internationally, including the Wellcome Collection in London, the National Museum of Art in Lithuania, Composite Moving Image in Naarm/ Melbourne, ACE Gallery in Adelaide, and Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and V-A-C in Moscow. They have also presented their work in international film festivals and participated in academic conferences, including Deaf History International and Viittomakielinen filmifestivaali.

Cast and Crew:

Performers – Joanna Agius, Melissa Anderson, Salomon Gerber, Natalie Sandon-Stanhope, Franco Spadea, Elise Stewart, Tony Tran
Written and Directed by – Avni Dauti and Rebecca Dauti
Producer – Olivia Koh
Director of Photography – Tavis Pinnington
Gaffer – Hamish Rayner
Assistant Camera Operators – Eiman Khairudin, Arandarga Lubis
Production Assistants – Spring Lee, Anaya Sandon-Gould

Check out the full program of free live music, outdoor cinema and community events on as part of Open Air in the Square.