‘I’ve been fighting my whole life for a dignified life,’ rages new mum Ángela in this superb Spanish drama from director Eva Libertad which shines a spotlight on the struggles of a deaf woman, cast adrift in a hearing world. Expanded from Libertad’s 2021 Goya-nominated short (co-directed by Nuria Muñoz), it revolves around a devastatingly raw performance from Libertad’s sister, the deaf actress Miriam Garlo, and was the deserved winner of the Audience Award at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year.

When we are first introduced to pregnant potter Ángela (Garlo), she’s living an enviable existence in rural Spain with her hearing partner Héctor (Álvaro Cervantes). Héctor evidently adores her, and Ángela passes time pleasantly in the company of hearing-impaired friends and compassionate colleagues in the studio where she works. However, this blissful balance is thrown into jeopardy when Ángela’s baby daughter is born, ripping her out of a carefully cultivated comfort zone and forcing her to re-engage with a society that has rejected and stigmatised her. Meanwhile, her daughter’s own ability to hear means that Ángela starts to feel alienated within her own family.

This impeccably judged film gives a keen sense of the battles Ángela has fought thus far, with her sometimes selfish behaviour clearly born from self-preservation and frustration. Garlo is mesmerising, conveying every ounce of Ángela’s agony, as well as her gutsiness, in a performance that’s both subtle and strong. Stylistically, the movie is a triumph too, from its seductive cinematography to a shift in sound that places us in Ángela’s shoes and adds emotional wallop to the film’s final act. Deaf takes an intimate, incisive look at the all-too common challenges of new parenthood, while presenting circumstances that are fascinatingly specific. Affecting and enlightening, it’s a powerful piece of cinema.

Deaf is in cinemas from Friday 12 September.