CODA 2021

Movie · 111 min · English, American Sign Language · January 28, 2021

Comedy-drama Coming-of-age comedy-drama Independent

Directed by Sian HederWritten by Sian Heder

Starring Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Marlee Matlin

CODA is a 2021 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed and written by Sian Heder. This English-language remake of the 2014 French-Belgian movie La Famille Bélier features Emilia Jones in the role of Ruby Rossi, a young woman who is the only hearing member in her family of deaf adults (CODA). Ruby tries to assist her family's failing fishing enterprise while also chasing her dream of becoming a singer.

The film includes deaf actors portraying deaf characters, and all the deaf roles, including that of Jones, are performed using American Sign Language. Supporting cast members include Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant (who makes his feature film debut), and Marlee Matlin. Produced as a co-production between the United States and France under Philippe Rousselet, CODA was filmed in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

The movie premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on August 13, 2021, where Apple secured its distribution rights for a record-breaking $25 million. It was made available through the Apple TV+ streaming service on that same date. Critics largely responded positively, highlighting Heder’s screenplay and Kotsur's acting, although opinions from deaf audiences were divided. The American Film Institute named CODA one of the top 10 films of 2021, and it has since been recognized as among the finest productions of the 2020s.

CODA earned multiple honors, including all three awards for which it was nominated at the 94th Academy Awards — Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Kotsur, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It became the seventh Best Picture winner to take home every award it was nominated for. The film also marked the first streaming service-distributed movie and the first Sundance-premiered film to win Best Picture. Kotsur made history as the first male deaf actor to win an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. Additional accolades include the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

As of 2024, a stage musical adaptation of CODA was in development.