NAME ME LEWAND
Cert PG
91 mins
BBFC advice: Contains upsetting scenes, references to discrimination
My heart sinks at the lack of compassion shown to those who reluctantly leave their homelands for a better life.
After all, there, but for sheer luck, go all of us.
Nobody has a choice about where they are born or their circumstances.
If they have no hope of living happy or fulfilled lives, why shouldn't they seek them elsewhere?
Nowadays, everyone who wants to enter Britain is portrayed as an enemy of our state.
And, as My Name Is Lewand shows, the authorities are rejecting those who enrich our society.
Thankfully, some are fighting injustice from within the country, and some are under the spotlight of Edward Lovelace's film.
My Name Is Lewand has an extra fascination for me because much of the documentary is set in Derby, where I was a newspaper editor until 2016.
It centres on an Iraqi boy who was born deaf and could not communicate at home or school.
Consequently, his parents decided the family should flee Britain, where they perceived he would have the chance of a better quality of life.
The film outlines their fraught journey on boats and in trucks and the cruel months in a camp in Dunkirk.
Finally, the opportunity arises to go to Britain, but that is only the beginning of another tumultuous chapter.
The attention Lewand is given at The Royal School for the Deaf while being taught British Sign Language is a life-changer.
However, his parents protect him from the agony they are suffering because the Home Office is threatening to deport them back to Iraq.
Forced to leave Britain, Lewand would have to return to a life of being unable to communicate at the very moment he is beginning to flourish.
It seems unbelievable to me that there are fanatics who believe this family should be deported to Iraq.
They are missing the compassion to allow Lewand to have a productive life that is impossible elsewhere.
Thankfully, his community in Derby see things differently from the likes of Suella Braverman, Nigel Farage and their supporters.
As a result, this becomes a thoroughly uplifting and powerful movie.
Reasons to watch: Important and compelling
Reasons to avoid: Too arty at times
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8/10
Did you know? At least 50,000 children in the UK are deaf or hearing-impaired, and 78% of those children attend mainstream schools without dedicated specialist facilities attached.
The final word. Edward Lovelace: "When I was reading about Lawand, I thought this kid’s been through something, and clearly he can’t tell his own story yet. If we could make a film that would allow him to have the space to express what he’s been through, I hoped that people’s perception of refugees might change in some small way." BFI
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