Eyethfilms was founded in 2000 by Arthur Luhn who was born deaf and whose first language is American Sign Language. He grew up during the Indiana Jones and Star Wars era and had an insatiable love for cinema, with one drawback, however. The films about deafness or sign language he had seen were to his distaste, because he felt that they conveyed a sense of loss, a loneliness, or self-pity.

Eyethfilms was the result of the desire to represent Sign Language culture in a far better light. Luhn wanted to reveal the culture as it is seen by those who really live in that world.

The word “Eyeth” is the name of a planet in a galaxy, far, far away inhabited by people who communicate only in sign language, a very visual language. Hence, as “Ear-th” is to people here on this planet who communicate mostly using ears and mouths, so “Eye-th” is to that planet where people use their eyes and hands.