- Welcome to POV.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we bring you the film Name Me Lawand
that tells the story of a young Kurdish boy
who was not only born deaf,
his family had no access to provide him a deaf education
or to services that even allowed him to identify as deaf.
Due to his deafness,
our main character, Lawand, couldn't communicate
with his family, didn't know his name,
and thanks to where he lived,
had no support or way to change that.
Basically, he had no chance to live any kind of a normal life,
much less a fulfilling one.
Out of desperation, when Lawand was five,
his family, including his older brother Rawa,
migrated to the UK.
They spent a year in a refugee camp
before being discovered by a deaf volunteer
who helped Lawand find his way
into the Royal School for the Deaf,
where he was taught British Sign Language.
Once Lawand was able to communicate,
those around him learned what an intelligent, curious,
and charismatic child he was.
However, just when things start to look up for the family,
they find themselves facing deportation
and do everything in their power to stay in the UK
so Lawand can stay with his friends
and continue to flourish.
Name Me Lawand is directed by Edward Lovelace.
He called his film a celebration of Lawand's personality
that was discovered through language.
Lovelace actually learned British Sign Language,
not only to help him communicate with Lawand,
but also help him understand Lawand's struggles.
The set had two deaf producers and a Kurdish producer
so that communication was never an issue.
The director says the bond
between the family and the filmmaking team was joyous,
but the true joy in the process was watching Lawand come to life
the more he was able to communicate with others.
Once that happened,
Lovelace says his job was to get out of the way
and let Lawand, who became a force of nature, lead the way.
As an added bonus,
the director says once Lawand was able to communicate,
he opened up about his struggles in his life,
thereby making the film an outlet for Lawand
that he might never have gotten anywhere else.
The revelation exceeded Lovelace's expectations
as to what the film could become.
He was so touched,
he said the fact that the film turned out well
was just an added bonus.
The more I learned about the making of this film,
which took almost five years,
I thought you could probably shoot a separate documentary
about how enthralled Lovelace became
as his story kept evolving beyond his wildest expectations
once the cameras started rolling.
And now, let's watch a young boy,
whose life started off so isolated
he had no sense of himself,
grow into a bundle of personality.
Name Me Lawand starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.