Film about deaf Kurdish boy who starts new life in Derby is so inspiring

It is a heartbreaking watch at times - but it will leave you feeling uplifted and inspired.

Name Me Lawand is a documentary about a young deaf Kurdish boy who undertakes a journey with his family from Iraq to Derby, starting a new life at the Royal School for the Deaf Derby.

Special screenings of the documentary have been held in the city for students and staff from the Royal School for the Deaf Derby as well as ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) students from Derby College.

The documentary has been extremely popular with Derby audiences - and Quad has now extended its showings until July 20.

Kathy Wilson, Quad audience engagement manager, said: “Films like Name Me Lawand champion Derby and Derby’s deaf community, and raise the profile of the city.

“We are committed to screening films and engaging with the widest range of communities from Derby.”

Quad is also offering all screenings of the documentary with descriptive subtitles.

Name Me Lawand was nominated for the Grierson Award at the BFI London Film Festival 2022 and was winner of the International Feature Documentary Award at the Hot Docs festival.

Paul Burrows, headteacher at Royal School for the Deaf Derby, said: “This is an inspiring story about a remarkable young man who initially lacked the ability to communicate effectively.

“It is a heartbreaking story at times, but ultimately an uplifting story of hardship, adversity and challenge.

“We are very grateful to Quad for giving the school and Lawand the opportunity to attend the screening free of charge - it was a proud moment for him, the school and the deaf community of Derby.

“I would encourage the people of Derby to each take this small step - learn some basic British Sign Language and show how inclusive and welcoming we are as a city.”

Name Me Lawand is being shown at Quad until July 20 and tickets can be booked on the website.