Performed in untranslated ASL, Peter Wolf's second feature film (the first being the landmark Deafula, 1975), explores that prickly place separating allegiances of the heart from those of culture. After dropping her Deaf boyfriend off at the airport, Aimee, an attractive and confident young Deaf woman, finds herself wooed by Robert, a buff dancer who's wildly captivated by her. He's handsome, he's talented, he's well-to-do, and he's hearing. Directed, written, and performed by mostly deaf artists, I Love You, But… follows Robert and Aimee's budding romance as they confront the thorny dilemmas of cross-cultural courting. In one telling sequence, the well-meaning Robert enrolls in a sign-language class that advocates so-called Easy English Signing, a knock-off of Signing Exact English (SEE). His clumsy attempts to communicate actually endear him to his reticent girlfriend. I Love You, But… is built around a series of family gatherings in which misconceptions about Deaf culture are dramatically debated. Assimilation, deaf offspring, cochlear implants-there are no easy answers, but as the film's title suggests, even the heart has qualifications.

Please note: I Love You, But… is in untranslated ASL (written synopsis provided) and spoken dialogue subtitled but silent.