Adriana Llabres, an actress based in Mexico, won the Ariel Award for Best Actress this year. Her work in All The Silence promoted representation for the deaf community in a uniquely crafted film. Llabres spoke with The Actors Society about her success, her time spent at The Academy, and more, below.
The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Tell us about All The Silence. Why this film today; what is significant about the subject matter to you?
All the Silence is a film I wanted to make to bring light to the deaf community. I felt there wasn’t representation for the deaf or hard-of-hearing community. When I was at The Academy, I found out I had a condition that prevented my ear drum from resonating properly…this made accent learning quite difficult. I focused on phonetics and the way a person’s mouth moved when they spoke instead of the sound to learn the accent.
When I started auditioning, I was told my acting was “too theatrical.” I never knew what that meant. This film shows the glories of theater while shedding light on our community.
And your character?
She’s CODA (a child of deaf adults) and had to sign. She finds out she’s going to lose her hearing very early in the movie and her identity is challenged by this news. Normalcy is challenged in the film; one of the questions begged by the film is “What is normal?”
The writer, Lucia Carreras, suggested creating long shots for each scene. This made it feel like theatre, like a play. We rehearsed scenes sometimes almost 20 times before filming to understand how the camera would move with us.
The perspective of the film is from my character’s point of view. The director, Diego del Río, focused heavily on who the story follows…she’s looking at herself throughout the film. His approach of using single long shots allowed for him to work closely with actors; one of his strengths.
Language and sound play an important part in the movie.
Yes. One of the cool things about the film is that it’s bilingual; it’s in Spanish and Mexican Sign Language.
The deaf community is invited–is included–in watching the film. It’s made for them in many ways. They can read the sign language or subtitles when it’s in Spanish.
To top it off, you took home an award for your performance.
I was so honored to receive the Ariel Award. It’s a prestigious award that is Mexico’s equivalent to the Oscars, and some members are also linked to the Oscars and vote for winners.
It gave me the confidence to turn down the noise or insecurity that I wasn’t enough or that I had to change myself. I’m motivated to keep connecting with the world and being myself in my roles.
In what ways?
We took a class focused on the business and industry side of acting. We wrote on little pieces of paper what we thought others would be cast as. It was anonymous, and one of the responses I got was “Ugly Duckling”...the girl who takes off her glasses at the end of the movie and turns out to be pretty. Sometimes I was the girl who’d be kidnapped in Narcos or something like that.
And do you feel that that’s changed?
When I first came out of school, I wanted to be everything but me. I’ve found that the richness comes from what I can give to a character.
You mentioned something similar in your acceptance speech.
I think everyone is unique and that’s what makes us special; our particularities. Our different points of view are worth understanding and learning from. We should share them. What I think makes us special or unique isn’t about ego it’s about accepting ourselves. You disconnect from others if you’re too absorbed in that.
You’re well-established; you’ve just won this award. What are your goals moving forward?
I’m interested in learning more about Latin American culture. I just signed up for a course to receive a diploma in Mexico, where I am studying Latin American literature.
Having studied in England and New York, I don’t feel I know as much about Latin America as I want. I want to write my projects and continue creating meaningful theater and film. I hope to be a representative of Mexico in the world, setting foot in different places and creating links with that place and my country.
To close, might there be a memory or moment from your time spent as a student at The Academy?
I struggled during the First Year of the program because I didn’t understand the difference between receiving the information and knowledge and getting it into my body. I actually wasn’t invited back for Second Year. When I received that letter I felt so bad, but I’m now grateful for the lesson it taught me. It’s not enough for it to be in your brain; it has to go deeper. I remember my teachers very well.
When I was finally invited back for Second Year, and received the Max Fisher Award for Achievement, that lesson was solidified.
I appreciate your time. I think our readers will relate to your story.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Be in touch, do let us know about upcoming projects, and take care.
Of course. Thanks, August.
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