CODA Movie Trivia
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50 free CODA Movie trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This CODA trivia quiz covers Sian Heder's 2021 Best Picture winner, the story of Ruby Rossi, the only hearing member of a deaf fishing family in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It follows Ruby from signing up for choir to impress Miles, through Mr. V's private lessons, the federal observer on the boat, the Coast Guard fines, the family's own fish business, the recital her father feels through her throat and the Berklee audition she signs as she sings. Behind the scenes it covers the French film La Famille Bélier it remakes, why Heder moved the story from a dairy farm to a fishing town, Marlee Matlin's ultimatum that deaf actors play deaf roles, Troy Kotsur's discovery at Deaf West Theatre, the nine months Emilia Jones spent learning ASL, the Rockport locations, Apple's record $25 million Sundance deal and the fight over the film's rating. It ends with the 94th Academy Awards, where CODA won every award it was nominated for, Kotsur made history and the ceremony was overshadowed by a slap. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who wrote and directed CODA?
Sian Heder
Sian Heder learned American Sign Language to write the script, then worked with two deaf 'ASL masters' who turned her dialogue into signs.
Q 02What does the acronym CODA stand for?
Child of deaf adults
Child of deaf adults: Ruby is the only hearing member of her family, so she interprets for them. Coda is also a musical term, which suits a story about a singer.
Q 03Who plays Ruby Rossi?
Emilia Jones
Emilia Jones had never had a singing lesson when she was cast. The British actress then trained her voice and learned ASL for the better part of a year.
Q 04CODA is a remake of which 2014 film?
La Famille Bélier
La Famille Bélier, a French hit, cast hearing stars as its deaf parents. The remake reversed that and gave every deaf role to a deaf actor.
Q 05In which Massachusetts town is CODA set?
Gloucester
Gloucester: the director grew up in nearby Cambridge and spent her childhood summers there, so she moved the French story to a harbor town she already knew.
Q 06What is the Rossi family business?
Fishing
Fishing: the director learned the trade from North Shore fishermen, and the cast rehearsed on real working boats for two weeks before the shoot.
Q 07Why does Ruby join the school choir?
Her crush Miles signs up for it
Her crush Miles signs up for it, so Ruby puts her own name down. Mr. V then pairs the two for a duet, which means rehearsing alone with him.
Q 08Who plays the choir director Mr. V?
Eugenio Derbez
Eugenio Derbez, a Mexican star known for comedy, plays him. Bernardo Villalobos rolls the R in his first name and tells students who can't manage it to call him Mr. V.
Q 09Where does Mr. V push Ruby to audition?
Berklee in Boston
Berklee in Boston is Mr. V's own college, so he offers Ruby private lessons for the audition, then almost drops her when family work keeps making her late.
Q 10Who plays Frank Rossi, Ruby's father?
Troy Kotsur
Troy Kotsur spent decades competing for the few deaf roles on offer. The part won him the first acting Oscar for a deaf man.
Q 11What diagnosis does Ruby have to interpret for her parents at the doctor's office?
Jock itch
Jock itch: Ruby must then relay the doctor's order of two weeks without sex, and both parents sign back that it is impossible.
Q 12Who plays Leo, Ruby's brother?
Daniel Durant
Daniel Durant won the part through auditions. The director said he brought a simmering anger to everything the character does.
Q 13What does Frank announce at the board meeting?
He'll start his own company and sell fish directly
He'll start his own company and sell fish directly, he tells the room, and he invites the other boats to join. The new business then leans on Ruby to do its talking.
Q 21Which music does Frank blast in his truck to feel the bass?
Gangsta rap
Gangsta rap: Frank plays it at top volume so he can feel the beat through the seats, and Ruby cringes when her parents collect her from school with it thumping.
Q 22Music is banned at the Rossi dinner table, but which app does Jackie call a family activity?
Tinder
Tinder: the parents help Leo swipe through matches over dinner. When Ruby asks why that is fine and her headphones are rude, her mother signs that it is something they can all do as a family.
Q 23Where did CODA's director first see the actor who plays Frank?
A Deaf West Theatre production
Q 14Why does the Coast Guard stop Frank and Leo?
They fail to respond to horns and radio calls
They fail to respond to horns and radio calls because the federal observer aboard never realised the crew was deaf. It happens the one day Ruby skips work to go swimming.
Q 15What condition lets Frank and Leo fish again?
A hearing person must be aboard at all times
A hearing person must be aboard at all times, the Coast Guard hearing rules. The family can't afford to hire one, so Ruby says she'll skip college and work the boat.
Q 16During Ruby's concert duet, how does CODA put the audience in her parents' place?
The sound cuts to silence
The sound cuts to silence, so viewers can only do what Frank and Jackie do: read the joy on the faces around them.
Q 17How does Frank experience Ruby's singing after the recital?
He feels her vocal cords as she sings
He feels her vocal cords as she sings to him that night, his hands on her throat. The next morning the whole family drives her to her college audition.
Q 18Which song does Ruby sing at her college audition?
'Both Sides, Now' by Joni Mitchell
'Both Sides, Now' by Joni Mitchell: Ruby signs the words as she sings so her family in the balcony can follow. It was chosen as a song about seeing life from two perspectives, as she does.
Q 19How does Mr. V rescue Ruby's shaky audition?
He deliberately makes a mistake on the piano
He deliberately makes a mistake on the piano and apologises, which lets Ruby start again. On the second try she spots her family in the balcony and sings to them.
Q 20What one word does Frank say aloud to Ruby as she leaves for college?
Go
Go: Frank, who signs everything else, uses his voice for that one word. As the car pulls away, Ruby answers with an 'I love you' sign.
A Deaf West Theatre production: she thought he was incredible on stage. The Los Angeles company performs for deaf and hearing audiences at once, and she saw him in two of its shows.
Q 24Ruby and Miles's duet was first a hit for Marvin Gaye and which singer?
Tammi Terrell
Tammi Terrell: she and Gaye had the original hit with 'You're All I Need to Get By'. After the concert Ruby's father asks what the song was about, then has her sing it again just for him.
Q 25Hearing that Ruby loves to sing, Jackie asks if she would want to do what 'if I was blind'?
Paint
Paint: her mother treats the choir as teenage rebellion against a deaf family. Ruby snaps back, asking why everything always has to be about her.
Q 26Frank brags at dinner that Jackie once beat 'all those hearing girls' to win what?
A beauty pageant
A beauty pageant: Frank says she won it the first year he met her. Ruby has heard the boast so often that she speaks the ending aloud along with his signing.
Q 27CODA's composer was music director of which Baz Luhrmann film?
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!: Marius de Vries made his film name getting actors to sing on camera there, and later on La La Land. On CODA he did the same for a teenage choir recorded live.
Q 28Which original song plays over CODA's end credits, sung by its lead actress?
Beyond the Shore
Beyond the Shore was written late, in post-production, with the director among its writers, to show how far the lead's singing had come. It made the Oscar shortlist for original song.
Q 29Which David Bowie song does Mr. V's choir perform at the fall concert?
Starman
Starman: the choir also sings Kiki Dee's 'I've Got the Music in Me'. Ruby's own taste runs older still: she and Miles bond over a record by the cult band the Shaggs.
Q 30CODA's festival sale broke a record held by which Andy Samberg comedy?
Palm Springs
Palm Springs, a time-loop comedy, had set the festival's sales record in 2020. CODA topped it at just over $25 million after a bidding war at a largely virtual festival.