On Saturday, December 6, 2025, Deaf Santa Claus received a Special Screening at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York — one of the most culturally significant venues on the entire national tour. The Eastman, dedicated to the art and science of photography and cinema, sits in a city with one of the largest Deaf-community population centers in the United States, anchored by the Rochester Institute of Technology and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.
The screening was the result of months of partnership work between the foundation and the Eastman’s programming team, with community outreach to RIT/NTID and the broader Rochester Deaf community. The event drew local press coverage from WXXI News, Rochester’s NPR affiliate.
For a documentary built on the act of visual storytelling — Charles signing, children watching, the camera holding still long enough to register what’s happening between them — the Eastman is an almost perfect home. The screening featured open captions throughout, ASL interpreters at the Q&A, and a post-event reception that brought together Rochester Deaf community leaders, RIT/NTID faculty and students, and the foundation team.
