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Episode #280: “I grew frustrated with others defining the experience for me.”
I speak with, Irmo Stijnberg, the filmmaker behind Unspoken Truth, a powerful short film that shines a light on the lived experience of stuttering in a world obsessed with fluency and speed.
Unspoken Truth follows Timothy, a talented graphic designer who stutters and whose passion and skill are overshadowed by misunderstandings and a devastating false accusation. As Timothy struggles to defend himself in an HR meeting, we see the deeper reality of stuttering and the mental energy it takes to speak, the frustration of not being heard, and the heartbreak of being misjudged.
The film also gives us rare access into Timothy’s thoughts as he stutters. This film isn’t just about stuttering. It’s also about injustice and resilience.
And speaking of injustice, the film was also immediately disqualified from the European Film Festival Integration You and Me claiming stuttering isn’t a disability despite the fact that the festival is a European event that receives funding by the EU which recognizes stuttering as a disability and prohibits discrimination under its laws.
We also dive into Irmo’s own experiences with stuttering and talk about what inspired the film and our thoughts about the abrupt disqualification.
Read more about Unspoken Truth at censtudios.com.
Hi! My name is Sophia Coolsen, and I am currently in the second year of my speech-language pathology master’s degree program at USC.
I was assigned to listen to a podcast on stuttering, and I stumbled upon “Stuttering is Cool” and randomly chose #280, Unspoken Truth with Irmo Stijnberg. I just wanted to reach out and say how cool and important I think this podcast is. The format and topics you have chosen are so engaging and interesting. Additionally, I love film, so this was a perfect one for me to choose!! I loved the connections you and Irmo were able to draw regarding internal monologue, presented on the screen, in writing, and verbally. I will say, I’m only on week 2 of the course, but this podcast was so insightful and gave me so much perspective on what a person who stutters’ daily life is like. Overall, this is just an awesome way to make your voice heard, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening.