NAME ME LAWAND

Duration:
91 min

Type:
Documentary

Year:
2022

Director:
Edward Lovelace

Producer:
Fleur Nieddu

Country:
United Kingdom

Languages:
English, Kurdish, British Sign Language, (English) subtitles

Lawand is a young Kurdish boy, deaf since birth. After a treacherous journey and a year in a Dunkirk refugee camp, the help of a deaf volunteer brings his family 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.

Edward Lovelace is known for his critically acclaimed work, including his award-winning third feature film co-directed with James Hall, THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS (2014 – SXSW, BFI London Film Festival) and their VOLVO x SKY ATLANTIC documentary series Human Made Stories (Cannes Lions, Tribeca Film Festival 2020). His previous work also includes A SONG STILL INSIDE (2020 – short narrative), KATY PERRY: PART OF ME (2012 – feature documentary) and WEREWOLVES ACROSS AMERICA (2010 – feature documentary). His most recent feature film NAME ME LAWAND (2022) won Best International Film at Hot Docs 2023, received a Grierson Award ‘Best Feature Documentary’ nomination at BFI London Film Festival 2022 and has been nominated for a One World Media ‘Refugee Reporting’ Award. NAME ME LAWAND is released by BFI Distribution in July 2023 across the UK & Ireland. He is currently also developing a fiction feature with BBC Film.