City_Spanish
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- Jul 19, 2023
The life of a profoundly deaf person is probably hard enough to understand and cope with regardless of the advances in technology to assist. Pile onto that a culture that treats them as virtual outcasts, a war zone, escape from that by one of the most horrendous routes possible to then settle in a city in a new country, flourish, then come under the scrutiny of the Home Office. Such was the early life of Lawand and his family.
The film is fairly conventional in structure spreading over four major strands that braid without chaffing. The journey to Derby, Lawand’s integration at the Royal School For The Deaf Derby (RSDD), his parent’s difficulties reconciling elements of their culture with the need to do the best for their son. Then miserably predictably the spectre of the Home Office looms later on.
Writer and director Edward Lovelace does a brilliant job of developing Lawand’s story using images and sound of him learning to speak and so gradually revealing a boy of exceptional talents. Lovelace observes as Lawand learns British Sign Language (BSL) while making friends with his classmates. His frustrations with his family in particular his parents, who for cultural issues are reluctant to learn sign, at first. His brother who repeatedly tells the viewer how much he respects and loves him, at least makes the effort.
When the Home Office appear it’s the grim straight letter and the requirement of an assessment to prove that he is making progress. There’s not much in the way of polemic here: There’s no need it’s a straight presentation of the process.
Lovelace does get more into a campaigning mode regarding the BSL Act, which was designed to recognise BSL as a first language. Here he covers the campaign, parliamentary lobbying and its passing into law.
The skill here is that the film could have been quite manipulative with the issues is covers looking to draw on the heart. But while not totally eschewing that element the film is stronger for presenting the issues pretty much straight up and letting Lawand tell his own story, which is remarkable enough as it is not requiring any emotional embellishment.
Name Me Lawand will be in UK cinemas from 7 July 2023.
The film is fairly conventional in structure spreading over four major strands that braid without chaffing. The journey to Derby, Lawand’s integration at the Royal School For The Deaf Derby (RSDD), his parent’s difficulties reconciling elements of their culture with the need to do the best for their son. Then miserably predictably the spectre of the Home Office looms later on.
Writer and director Edward Lovelace does a brilliant job of developing Lawand’s story using images and sound of him learning to speak and so gradually revealing a boy of exceptional talents. Lovelace observes as Lawand learns British Sign Language (BSL) while making friends with his classmates. His frustrations with his family in particular his parents, who for cultural issues are reluctant to learn sign, at first. His brother who repeatedly tells the viewer how much he respects and loves him, at least makes the effort.
When the Home Office appear it’s the grim straight letter and the requirement of an assessment to prove that he is making progress. There’s not much in the way of polemic here: There’s no need it’s a straight presentation of the process.
Lovelace does get more into a campaigning mode regarding the BSL Act, which was designed to recognise BSL as a first language. Here he covers the campaign, parliamentary lobbying and its passing into law.
The skill here is that the film could have been quite manipulative with the issues is covers looking to draw on the heart. But while not totally eschewing that element the film is stronger for presenting the issues pretty much straight up and letting Lawand tell his own story, which is remarkable enough as it is not requiring any emotional embellishment.
Name Me Lawand will be in UK cinemas from 7 July 2023.