 About the Author:
My name is Gabriel Angulo. I am a 27-year-old indie filmmaker from Lima, Peru, I have stammered since I was 6 years old. As far as I can recall stuttering / stammer have always been part of my life. I studied Audiovisual Production at University. I wasn’t going to let stammering take away my dream of being a Film Director. I graduated from college in 2018. Currently I work as a freelance Video Editor and Screenwriter for a Multimedia Digital Agency, writing and editing institutional videos and publicity spots. |
The level of stammering increased more on the way to college and the last years of high school, but I wasn’t going to let stammering take away my dream of being a Film Director, so despite being someone who stutters, I’ve managed to graduate from college in 2018.
I am on a “personal path” of trying to achieve more goals in my career as a Professional Filmmaker, so I decided to participate in more film festivals since I turned 27. I always try to include stammering / stuttering inside in my stories, not always being the main aspect, but try to always have some presence of it in the audiovisual work that I do.
I decided to write about something that myself and a lot of people can relate to, but it’s not usually shown in the film media: stammering.
This year I produced two short films: ANGUISH (fiction) and THE STRENGTH ON THE STRUGGLING VOICES (short documentary)
I wrote the screenplay of ANGUISH very quickly on one weekend and decided that the main theme (and therefore the title) of the short film would be the: the Anguish (“Angustia” in Spanish) that many people who stammer feel when they are going to meet a speech therapist for the first time, to begin their psychological treatment.
The script is mostly based on my personal experience as a person who stammers when I first met the current speech therapist I am working with; Jose Alberto Paredes Nuñez. I met him in 2015, in my third year of college, and we remain close friends until this day.
I have also worked on a short documentary called: “The Strength on the Struggling Voices”, about the foundation and timeline of Mi Habla – Mi Tiempo (an organization dedicated to raise and increase stuttering awareness with a variety of activities and services), and about the current situation of the stuttering awareness in Lima, Peru.
Both projects you can find them on my VIMEO CHANNEL.
ANGUISH and my documentary are the first of many projects about stammering that I plan to write, produce, and direct.
Also, I have produced another short film called DIEGESIS which, although the main theme is not stuttering as a central topic, the lead male character stutters a little when he is nervous or anxious, this was what one my first attempts to include stuttering on the movie storytelling.
Although the stammering made my way into film school harder, I did not let it affect or compromise my dreams, and I think the best way to face stuttering is to embrace it, that’s why I think it’s important to tell positive and inspiring stories about people who stammer.
It’s important to tell positive and inspiring stories about people who stutter. With my films I want to help and inspire those who feel they are never positively represented in the entertainment business.
Thank You!
Cheers
“Accept your stuttering as your life partner — don’t let it be your enemy”. This was such a powerful quote as it changes the narrative of an action you can take to adapt and let your stuttering be a part of you as opposed to something you despise of.
This deeply resonated with me as I found so much of my passions, interests, and career choices have come to fruition after I accepted my stuttering as part of my life partner and I try to intertwine it with everything that I do now from a professional and personal perspective so that it truly does feel like a life partner with me.
One item I wanted to hear from you is how does stuttering show up differently in Lima, Peru vs. in the U.S.? We have an office in Lima, Peru so would love to connect with you to see if there are any kinds of mentoring our employees can do for the stuttering community in Pero as they are always looking at ways they can help impact communities in need.
Kunal
Also I wanted to commend you for pursuing your dreams without letting your stuttering affect you as you are a great role model!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, it was so insightful to see what you experience while waiting to see the SLP for the first time. The way we see you sitting and mentally considering what’s going to happen in the session and whether it will be worthwhile. All of these insights into your thoughts, hopes and dreams are really important to share with the public and especially future SLPs such as myself. Both of your films really depicted important points and information that people should know about. I wish you continued success in your film-making career and congratulations for going for it!
Hi Gabriel,
I am a grad student/future SLP and want to thank you for sharing your amazing story. It is so great that you are supporting representation of stuttering/stammering in your movies. I feel that more representation in the media will help people feel seen and educate the public more about stuttering. Bravo!
Hi Gabriel,
The work you are doing to create accurate representation for people who stutter is amazing! I am sure there are so many people out there who resonate with your films. It is so awesome that you are able to combine your experiences as a person who stutters with your passion for film making. As a future SLP, it us also really cool to read about your relationship with your speech therapist! I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors, and I can’t wait to see what else you create!
Hey Gabriel, Thank you for sharing your story. It’s really awesome you get to pursue your dream of becoming a Film Director. I watched your short film, Anguish, and really enjoyed the self-reflection scene. As a viewer, it was insightful to see the nervousness of attending speech therapy even though you’ve attended since you were six.
The amount of anguish a person who stammers feels when they go to speech therapy for the first time. You also mention the great relationship you have with your speech therapist. How has Jose helped the feeling of Anguish when attending speech therapy?
Hi Gabriel,
Thank you for sharing and more importantly, creating tangible ways to show representation of stuttering in the very way we need, visibly, on screen.
How do you feel about making your work public?
Pam
Hi Gabriel!
I want to first say thank you for sharing your story. I am sure it has already inspired many people and will continue to make an impact on people from many walks of life.
Your determination and hard word motivate me as a current graduate student in speech language pathology. I know that this time is only temporary, but it can get difficult at times. We all struggle and experience hardships throughout life, but it is all about how you see your way out of it. Your positivity is so encouraging.
I also was very touched by the way you shared your experience of meeting your speech therapist for the first time. I have to admit, I often think of my own nervous feelings when first meeting a client and have not taken the time to think how the client feels coming in for the first time. Thank you for opening my eyes and mind to this!
Jackie
I also wanted to add how great it is you are putting in the work to gain more representation of people who stutter and/or stammer in the media!!
hello Gabriel I wanted to say thank you for sharing your story and how do you think we can get the media to have better reputation for people with speech impediments?
Hi Gabriel,
Thank you for creating two important artistic works that illustrate unique perspectives regarding people who stutter (PWS), especially in your first film “Anguish,” in how you courageously share your internal negative dialoge how the majority of PWS negatively reinforce a false self-image of themselves regarding their stutter as erronously dictated by majority of modern human society today.
In your second film, “The Strength of the Struggling Voices,” Jose Alberto Paedres Nunez, your current speech-language pathology practictioner, mentions the work of Taro Alexander, founder of SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young. I would like to know your perspective on how this individual shaped your clinician’s approach to care for PWS not mentioned in the documentary? Any additional insight that you may have would be most helpful in helping me develop my clinical approach to help PWS in my future practice. Thank you so much for your time!
We’re sorry to tell you that Gabriel hasn’t been able to reply due to technical difficulties, but he has read your comments and is very happy you took the time to visit his presentation. You can reach Gabriel through the website in his bio.