2026 World Deaf & Disabled Dance Film Festival

Festival

2026 World Deaf & Disabled Dance Film Festival

Presented by Urban Jazz Dance Company |

November 6–7, 2026

Urban Jazz Dance Company (UJDC) proudly presents the inaugural World Deaf & Disabled Dance Film Festival (WDDDFF), November 6–7, 2026, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) in San Francisco. This groundbreaking festival celebrates the creativity, cultural perspectives, and artistic visions of Deaf and Disabled dance filmmakers from around the world.

Featuring up to 28 films representing diverse countries, languages, cultures, and experiences, WDDDFF provides an international platform for Deaf and Disabled artists to share their stories through movement and filmmaking. The festival celebrates Deaf and Disability cultures while expanding visibility, representation, and opportunities for artists whose perspectives have historically been excluded from mainstream cinema.

The two-day program features five curated screening sessions, including dance documentaries, experimental shorts, and narrative dance films. Friday evening opens with six films, followed by Saturday’s documentary screenings, two short-film programs, and a closing evening documentary presentation.

Between screenings, scheduled breaks provide opportunities for audiences, filmmakers, and community members to connect, exchange perspectives, and celebrate Deaf and Disabled artistry. Light concessions will be available throughout the festival.

All screenings will feature ASL/English interpretation, captioning, audio description, and wheelchair accessibility. Gender-neutral restrooms will also be available, supporting meaningful participation for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Disabled, and hearing audiences.

Urban Jazz Dance Company

A still photo of Urban Jazz Dance Company dancers in deep red and midnight blue dresses in a V formation balancing on sand at a park with a rock barrier and greenery in the background.

A Deaf Chinese female dancer holds a low kneeling-squat pose on stage. She wears a long black dance dress with sheer long sleeves, black tights and white dance socks. Both hands are raised with expressive curved fingers, and her facial expression is intense and focused. The background is solid black, with a reflective black wooden stage floor.

Overhead image of nine Infinite Flow Dance artists arranged in a symmetrical cross-like formation on a studio floor illuminated with blue, purple, and warm orange light. Wheelchair and nondisabled dancers dressed in white create an interconnected geometric composition with their bodies and wheelchairs.

Foreground–Right side of image, two African American men at chest level. They are embracing, one man with back to camera, the other smiling. Background–Left side shows two male dancers in profile in dance arabesque position with one leg extended behind and standing on bent other leg.

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