Sound Of Metal, directed by Darius Marder, USA

By Parminder OBE

April 7, 2021

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Sound Of Metal is the story of Ruben (Riz Ahmed), a heavy-metal drummer who must reimagine his life and career when he begins to lose his hearing. The film uses innovative sound design techniques to take the audience into Ruben’s experience with hearing loss.

For the longest while, I kept putting off watching Sound Of Metal as part of my BAFTA 2021 viewing. When I finally sat down to watch it, I was so moved by the story that I went in search of its origins. I learnt that Sound Of Metal began as a hybrid docufiction in 2007, directed by Derek Cianfrance and emerged over a decade later as the fiction feature debut of Writer-Director, Darius Marder! It is a testimony to a friendship, passion for drumming and storytelling.

Cianfrance had damaged his hearing in his drumming days, “and so I wrote this story about a heavy-metal drummer who blows out his ear-drums and goes and lives in the land of the deaf. And he raises money to get a cochlear implant, eventually realises that he had actually found himself in the deaf community and he rips out the implant and goes back”, he shares in an interview Screen International. Cianfrance struggled to get the financing and eventually shelved the film in 2008, which is when he met Darius Marder.

In 2012, he gave the storyline to Darius who would rewrite the script, “I saw it very clearly, I was so passionate about writing it, he says. “My heart was in the story and I could see it and feel it”, he recalls in an interview with Screen International. Finding the right cast and the funding would take another several years. Hollywood, it seems, was not ready for a story about heavy metal and deaf people! He eventually found a European producer – Sacha Ben Harroche of Caviar Films who fell in love with the story and was prepared to take the risk. The film is financed by Bill Benz and Kathy Benz who invested their personal funds to get the film made in 2018.

Sound Of Metal presents deafness as a culture and as a community and not as a disability. To ensure this community got to watch and experience the film, the Director argued for the need for open captioning which details every sound as well the dialogue so the hard of hearing can also enjoy the film. The film is also notable for casting many culturally deaf actors.

Watching the film, it feels as if Sound Of Metal was waiting for Riz Ahmed, the last actor I would have imagined being cast in the lead role – a British Pakistani actor, rapper and activist in a film about heavy metal and deaf people. Riz spent seven months preparing for the role, learning American Sign Language and how to drum and it shows. He gives a superb, quiet and soulful performance as Ruben Stone in Sound Of Metal and has been inwardly transformed by the privilege of working within the Deaf community. He shared this in an interview with Men’sHealth.com“I’m trying to think less about what I can get and more what I can let go of and share”.

Reminds me of a quote from Rumi: “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” Go watch this film and be transformed.

The film was critically acclaimed on its release and has already won numerous awards and is nominated for three BAFTAs and six Oscars! Watch the film trailer here and stream it here.

About Parminder Vir OBE

Parminder Vir OBE has dedicated herself to positively impacting and transforming lives through a professional career spanning 40 years in philanthropy, entrepreneurship, film and television production, arts and culture, and investment funding. She is the co-founder of the Support4AfricaSMEs campaign and The African Farmers Stories, launched in 2020. She served as the CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, based in Lagos, Nigeria from April 2014 to April 2019. Prior to joining the Foundation, Parminder has enjoyed a distinguished career as an awarding winning film and television producer and private equity investor in film and media.