The Apple original film CODA has such a distinct authenticity that it's easy to wonder whether it's based on a true story. CODA has been nominated for three Oscars—Best Picture, Best ing Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay—and it's likely thanks to the film's simultaneously heartwarming and realistic story and performances. As it turns out, CODA takes lots of careful inspiration from real life.
The film's title, CODA, stands for Child(ren) of Deaf Adults and is also a play on its music-based story. 17-year-old Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones) stars as the only hearing member of a culturally Deaf family in Gloucester, Massachusetts, who discovers a ion for singing that could lead her to a college far away from her home and family. 's soundtrack is full of classic songs to capture Ruby's love of singing, but the film's exploration of the Deaf community is where its authenticity truly shines. Alongside Jones, CODA stars Deaf actors Daniel Durant, Troy Kotsur, and Academy Award-winner Marlee Matlin as the rest of Ruby's family. In fact, Kotsur has made history in 2021 as the first Deaf man nominated for an Oscar, in this case for Best ing Actor.
Writer-director Sian Heder and many of the film's other contributors put plenty of consideration into CODA's portrayal of the Rossi family. Thus, the question naturally arises of whether the film is based on a true story. Here's everything to know about CODA's real-life inspirations.
Is CODA Based On A True Story?
Although there are certainly plenty of CODAs in real life, Heder's film is not based on any specific real people or storylines. The Rossi family, as realistic as they may seem, are entirely fictional. That said, 's real meaning doesn't come from its exact characters and storylines, but rather from the communities they represent, which do indeed exist. Both the greater Deaf community and the fishing culture of Gloucester are real, and CODA strives to portray them accurately according to real life.
CODA's Real Life Inspirations Explained
Although CODA isn't based on a true story, it mirrors plenty of real experiences. For example, one of the film's producers, Jack Jason, who is also Matlin's long-time interpreter and business partner, is himself a CODA and has spoken about how the movie echoes many aspects of his own life. Thus, the authenticity of Ruby's onscreen experience comes from CODA's commitment to capturing the spirit of true stories from within the Deaf community, in addition to casting Deaf roles with Deaf actors as with Echo in Marvel's Hawkeye. Likewise, Heder and her cast took time to get to know the fishing community of Gloucester, even spending enough time on fishing boats to become fairly proficient, which is reflected in the realism of the film's setting. Even CODA's ASL (which makes up an impressive 40% of the script) features real vernacular from the region.
What Movie CODA Is A Remake Of
CODA is based on another fictional story, the 2014 French film La Famille Bélier, of which Heder's script is a direct adaptation. Unfortunately, La Famille Bélier fell short of the standards CODA upholds in portraying the Deaf community, such as casting well-known hearing actors as the protagonist's Deaf family and using deafness as the butt of some humorous moments. As a result, it received backlash in and from of the Deaf community around the world. CODA thus takes its predecessor's influence in a much better direction by being true to real lived experiences.
