BIG EARS LEARNS TO LISTEN - Synopsis

Based on the winner of the 2006 BBC Short Story Competition, Big Ears Learns to Listen is a powerful, moving story about two teenagers coming to terms with the loss of their hearing after a menegitis epidemic sweeps through their New Zealand school.

Prior to the tragedy, which claimed the lives of three of their classmates, BigEars was a popular boy with lots of friends and a promising talent for music. Now, with complete hearing loss and a long slow recovery ahead of him, it seems his world has crumbled and his friends and musical aspirations are fading away.

The other teen, Melody, was already an outcast, and ironically, her social isolation prepared her well for this unexpected loss. Thrown together in their rehabilitation, both struggle to re-learn the most basic tools of communication.

It is not until Melody drags Big Ears to a hauntingly magical, abandoned cathedral that he senses how much his fear has been overwhelming him. Challenged by her bravery, he follows her across the shattered stained-glass threshold.

As they’re drawn deeper into this eerie space, Big Ears slowly begins his journey towards reawakening his hope and recovering his curiosity. Melody teaches him that hearing is more than just a mechanical or biological process. And as she coaxes him past his fear, his anger slips away and Big Ears finally learns to listen.


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