Name Me Lawand
classified PG SPlease note: This was screened in July 2023
Director Edward Lovelace explores the power of communication and community with this rapturous portrait of a young Deaf Kurdish boy.
Five-year-old Lawand is on a quest to find a world where there are people like him – people who will understand him. Since birth, Lawand has been profoundly Deaf and unable to communicate with those around him. He undertakes a treacherous journey with his family from Iraq to Derby, home of the Royal School for the Deaf. But this new life soon comes under threat when the family face deportation. Along with members of the Derby community, they begin a new quest – a fight to stay in the place they now call home.
Employing a striking visual style that frames Lawand’s development, from being voiceless to a voice representing others in the Deaf community, Lovelace’s documentary is an inspirational and touching coming-of-age story.