Lawand is a young Kurdish boy, deaf since birth. At five years old his future in Iraq looks destined to be limited and lonely. In desperate search of a better life in a world where he can communicate, his family decide to leave their home. After a treacherous journey and a year in a refugee camp, the help of a deaf volunteer brings them to Derby where Lawand joins the Royal School for the Deaf. As he grows older, the film follows his dramatic progress learning British Sign Language, revealing a bright, charismatic, and inquisitive boy, who discovers friendship and a new way to express himself. But just as Lawand is joyfully finding his place in the world, the family face deportation from the UK.
Employing a striking lyrical and observational visual style, writer-director Edward Lovelace spent four years filming Lawand, learning British Sign Language himself. In this moving and inspiring portrait, we follow Lawand’s evolution from extreme isolation to becoming able to be his true self. This is a story about the strength that language gives us, whatever form it takes, and of the power of friendship and community.
