 About the Author:
Irmo Stijnberg (38) is a Dutch film director and actor and has been stuttering since the age of 5. |
Unspoken Truth – from the first stuttering film director in the Netherlands
My name is Irmo Stijnberg, a film director and actor. In 2024, I wrote and directed Unspoken Truth (De Waarheid), my debut short film. As someone who stutters myself, I wanted to show the experience of stuttering from a perspective I rarely saw represented in film. How could there be? To my knowledge, there were no Dutch film directors who stutter. After inquiries into the Netherlands film industry, aided by the Dutch Stuttering Association, we also found this to be the case.
The film follows Timothy, a young graphic designer who stutters and faces an accusation of sexual harassment by a client. He has to defend himself in front of HR, while dealing with the difficulties of communicating in a world that often expects people to speak quickly and fluently.
The story was inspired by my own experiences with stuttering, showing the different shades of stuttering. The film had its private pre-release screening on International Stuttering Awareness Day in Amsterdam on October 22, 2024. For me, ISAD is therefore closely connected to both the reason I made the film and the reason I continue to tell stories about stuttering.
The film was later disqualified from a disability-themed film festival. The reason? According to the festival, stuttering was not a disability. This infuriated me and people who stutter around the world. With their help and support, we managed to get a response from the festival. Unfortunately, their response showed that there is still a lot of work to be done to improve the understanding and recognition of stuttering. The film has since been screened internationally, with viewers praising its raw authenticity.
After being told I couldn’t become a director because of my stuttering, fighting to get the film made and shown led to me being recognized as the first stuttering film director in the Netherlands.
It would be an honor to share this film with the international stuttering community. You can watch the trailer below.
You can also watch the full film at https://ux.cens tudios.com for a small fee.
Irmo,
Thank you for sharing this story AND for not being silenced due to misinformation that stuttering is not a disability. Tell that to the 70+ million around the world who stutter, right, that struggling to communicate, something most of the world takes for granted, is not disabling?
I have stuttered since 5 years old and tried to hide it for 35+ years. Fear of speaking due to negative social consequences can indeed be disabling. Stuttering remains a disability that people still think it’s ok to laugh at, mock, tease, and worse, exclude us because we talk differently.
Thank you for being bold and sharing your truth.
Pam
Thank you for the kind words Pam and for sharing your story. You hit the nail on the head!
And I too have been stuttering since I was 5 years old.
Hoi Irmo
When I saw the full video, I was speechless. And that doesn’t happen very often since I found my voice. It so clearly shows that there is still discrimination, both without people realizing it, but also on purpose. Knowing the video is based on your experiences, seeing the quality of it, and having met you, it’s a scandal the video was denied at the festival. So keep showing it and hopefully it will get the credits it deserves, including you yourself.
Keep filming
Anita
Thank you so much Anita.