Sonia Pivac

The Northern Deaf womens’ team wins the third sevens tournament, comfortably beats Central 60-0 and Southern 34-0. Southern beats Central 34-5.

Coverage of the participants and activities enjoyed at the 1995 Northern Deaf Youth Camp in Lake Whakamaru, Waikato.

Comprehensive footage of the participants and activities at the 1996 Summer Deaf Youth Camp in Otaki.

In April 2006, New Zealand Parliament declared NZSL to be an official language - the culmination of a 20-year battle by the deaf community, and a true hallmark in the recognition of their native language. 'Sign of the Times' is about the deaf New Zealanders who fought to have their language recognised as a real language and as a viable means of communication. The film documents the community's celebration of the official recognition of their language and looks at the community's ongoing hopes and aspirations for their language and culture.

'Strangers' was a TVNZ-produced drama series, including one Deaf character played by 7-year-old Sonia Pivac. This short documentary is a brief look behind the scenes of the filming process.

The first ever Wallace Williams Comedy Evening kicks off in 2003, as a fundraiser for Deaf Youth to attend the WFD Congress in Montreal, Canada.

Auckland Deaf Society, about to close for a total building redevelopment, hosts a final social event: a Mardi Gras at the Deaf Club.

The 2nd Asia Pacific Deaf Youth camp (APDYC) held at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Turangi is featured on ‘Inside Out’. Altogether, there were 43 Deaf youths from 12 countries, 15 youth leaders, 10 interpreters and a couple of guest speakers.

In the early 1990s, due to a breakthrough in technology, cochlear implants were starting to become the norm. The Deaf community worldwide viewed cochlear implants as a device that disregarded the need for access to sign language. Others considered such devices a miracle. In 1993, ‘60 Minutes’ investigated this controversial topic in New Zealand.

Deaf protest against shutting down the Advance Centre, a tertiary support centre for Deaf and hearing impaired students in the Auckland region.

In August 2014, the Ministry of Education brought Deaf students together from across New Zealand for a weekend of ideas, learning and friendship. The Ministry called the hui to better understand what school is really like for Deaf students and to gather their ideas on how things could be improved. This video captures the workshops, fun activities and growing friendships that happened over the weekend.

The grit! The determination! The hours of practice! Finally it’s game day for the first Deaf Netball New Zealand versus Australia in Manawatu. Watch highlights of the gameplay followed by expert post-match analysis and limbo shenanigans at MDS. Good times.

'Strangers' was a TVNZ-produced drama series for children, with one Deaf character played by 7-year-old Sonia Pivac. Reporter Phil Keoghan, from ‘Spot On’, interviews Sonia about being the only Deaf actor in the drama.

Auckland Deaf Society’s annual picnic at Long Bay where members compete in the 100m sprint (and fake starts!) and the boys show off their bodybuilding moves.