A failure to communicate.
A short woman of Middle Eastern descent wearing a niqab that leaves only her eyes exposed stares confused at a subway map high above her on the wall of a subway station.
The Middle Eastern woman walks over to a taller white woman purchasing a ticket at a kiosk. The white woman has her back turned and ignores the other woman's greeting.
The woman in the niqab grabs the white woman by the hair and forcibly turns her around.
The white woman appears confused. She pulls an electronic device like a cell phone from her purse and types on it. The device reads her words out loud.
The deaf woman holds the device out toward the Middle Eastern woman who starts to speak into it, but a subway train arrives and stops, drowning out her talking.
The deaf woman shows the other woman that the device transcribed the announcer's words. It then flashes a low power message.
The Middle Eastern woman guides the deaf woman to the map and begins pointing to the many routes. She jumps, trying to reach the destination she wants. The deaf woman shrugs her arms, confused.
The Middle Eastern woman points toward her mouth and pantomimes a smile with her fingers. The deaf woman smiles and points to her mouth. The Middle Eastern woman nods in affirmation. She then draws a letter V in the air with her hands. The deaf woman repeats, understanding, then points to the destination Happy Valley on the map. The Middle Eastern woman nods and gives her a thumbs up sign.
The deaf woman shows the other woman her ticket that shows the destination Happy Valley on rail line 4. She then pantomimes to the Middle Eastern woman that it is her destination as well and indicates that she should follow her to the parked train.
The Middle Eastern woman shakes the deaf woman's hand. As she does, the train leaves without them.
The two women sit together on a bench. The Middle Eastern woman appears timid and embarrassed, while the deaf woman appears frustrated, anxiously tapping her foot.
Credits. Writer, director, producer, storyboards, characters, backgrounds, animator, Tyler Chan. Sound design, Eric Gusky, w w w dot voice over to go dot com. Maya, Noora Abu Eitah. Isabelle, Eric Gusky. Special thanks to Andi Spark. Produced at Griffith University, Queensland College of Art. Griffith Film School.