American Documentary

Overview

Brooklyn, N.Y. — July 11, 2024 — POV, the multi-Emmy® and Peabody award-winning documentary series, recounts the powerful story of Lawand, a young Kurdish boy, deaf since birth and his transformative journey to communicate through learning British Sign Language (BSL) in Name Me Lawand. The moving film is directed and written by Edward Lovelace (The Possibilities are Endless), and the producers are Edward Lovelace, Fleur Nieddu (Name Me Lawand), Sam Arnold (Name Me Lawand), Beyan Taher (Salaam Dunk), Neil Andrews (Beats by Dre ‘Defy The Noise’) and Marisa Clifford (Beastie Boys Story).

Name Me Lawand will make its national broadcast premiere on POV Monday, September 9, 2024 at 10pm/9C (check local listings) and available to stream until December 8, 2024 at pbs.org, and the PBS App. In addition to standard closed captioning for the film, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.

Now in its 37th season, POV continues to mark its place as America’s longest running non-fiction series.

In Name Me Lawand, the protagonist of the film, deaf since birth, is a five-year-old boy whose future in Iraq looks destined to be limited and lonely. In desperate search of a better life in a world where he can communicate, his parents decide to leave their home. After a perilous trek to England and a year in a Dunkirk refugee camp, the help of a deaf volunteer brings them 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. But just as Lawand is joyfully finding his place in the world, will the British government allow the family to stay or face deportation?

Employing a striking lyrical and observational visual style, and an ambient score, writer/director Edward Lovelace spent four years filming Lawand and learning British Sign Language, truly immersing himself in Lawand’s world. In this moving and inspiring portrait, Lovelace follows Lawand’s evolution from extreme isolation to vibrant self-expression. This is a story about the strength and freedom that language gives us (whatever form it takes), a family’s unconditional love, and the power of friendship and community.

“Telling Lawand and Rawa that one day their story would be shared outside of their local community, and maybe even across the world, was a magical moment,” said Edward Lovelace, director of Name Me Lawand. “To see them begin to believe that their journey, that their light, would be celebrated by a large audience changed them. I could see it. I think they felt seen, and felt like their resilience and self belief wasn’t invisible. POV broadcasting their story is the realization of that dream. That is its significance. It’s everything to them and to the film team.”

"Director Edward Lovelace pushes the boundaries of storytelling in his beautiful, cinematic film Name Me Lawand," said Chris White, Executive Producer, POV. "He uses the power of the medium to, both, document and emulate Lawand’s experience as a deaf child so

audiences don't lookat him but empathize with him. The spirited film also demonstrates the lengths parents will go to ensure their children can embrace with confidence their true selves.”

Name Me Lawand made its world premiere at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival receiving a Best Feature Documentary nomination. At Hot Docs 2023 the film won the Special Jury Prize for Best International Feature, the Top 20 Audience Award and was nominated for a Docs for School Award. Other accolades include the ReelAbilities Accessibility Award at the 2023 ReelAbilities Film Festival, and the Checkpoints Human Rights Documentary Award and Youth Award at the 2023 Bergen International Film Festival. In 2024, the documentary took home the Best Feature Documentary - Jury Award at the Budapest International Documentary Festival; Best Documentary - Grand Prize at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights; and Best Feature Documentary at the RiverRun International Film Festival.

Name Me Lawand won the Children’s Resilience in Film Award at the 2023 Shine Global Children’s Resilience in Film Awards. The film was nominated for the Refugee Reporting Award at the 2023 One World Media Awards; the Documentary Film Campaign of the Year at The Big Screen Awards 2023; the Best Documentary at the 2023 GRIERSON British Documentary Awards 2023; and the Raindance Maverick Award at the British Independent Film Awards 2023.

“This affecting coming-of-age doc is as pure and literal a manifestation of ‘finding your voice’ as you’ll see.”

–Time Out

“A moving, impressionistic piece that immerses us in the world of the titular Kurdish boy”
– Cineuropa

Name Me Lawand is a Pulse Films production with support from BFI Doc Society Fund (awarding National Lottery funding) and Electric Shadow Company, directed and written by Edward Lovelace. The producers are Fleur Nieddu, Sam Arnold, Beyan Taher, Neil Andrews, Marisa Clifford and Edward Lovelace. The cinematographer is Ben Fordesman. The editors are David Charap, Shahnaz Dulaimy, Michael Nollet and David Whitakker. The executive producers are Thomas Benski, Tim O'Shea, Diene Petterle, Lisa Marie Russo, Kwesi Dickson, Isabel Freer, and Erika Dilday and Chris White for American Documentary | POV.

Photos

Download Name Me Lawand photos.

Click Name Me Lawand Press Kit to access the theatrical press notes.

Credits

Name Me Lawand

Director: Edward Lovelace

Producers: Fleur Nieddu, Sam Arnold, Beyan Taher, Neil Andres, Marisa Clifford, Edward Lovelace

Cast: Lawand Hamad Amin, Rawa Hamad Amin

Executive Producers: Thomas Benski, Tim O'Shea, Diene Petterle, Lisa Marie Russo, Kwesi Dickson, Isabel Freer, Erika Dilday, Chris White

Writer: Edward Lovelace

Cinematographer: Ben Fordesman

Editors: David Charap, Shahnaz Dulaimy, Michael Nollet, David Whitakker

Country: UK

Languages: English, Kurdish, British Sign Language, subtitles

Year: 2022

About the Filmmakers

Edward Lovelace, Director, Writer, Name Me Lawand

Edward Lovelace is known for his “incredibly crafted” critically acclaimed work “that pushes the [documentary] medium forward”. His award winning films include Name Me Lawand (2022) released in the UK and Ireland in 2023, the co-directed The Possibilities are Endless (2014) and Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012). Presently, he’s in production on two feature documentaries with esteemed teams at Ventureland and Dorothy Street Pictures. Edward also has an acclaimed career as a commercials and short content director, including the co-directed Human Made Stories (Cannes Lions, Tribeca Film Festival 2020).

Fleur Nieddu, Producer, Name Me Lawand

Fleur Nieddu is a BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) longlisted producer working across feature documentaries, most recently Edward Lovelace’s award winning Name Me Lawand (‘Best Films of 2023’ - The Sunday Times, Guardian,The Evening Standard). Fleur is now producing A Life Illuminated by Edward Lovelace and Jinwar - Land of Women by debut director, Beyan Taher, which recently won Best Pitch at Edinburgh Pitch 2024. Fleur also works as an Impact Producer, overseeing the release of Name Me Lawand (Screen Award Doc Campaign of the Year nominee), and previously worked as co-Impact Producer on Steven Eastwood’s Island (BIFA 2018 nominee) and Impact Assistant on Orlando von Einsiedel’s Virunga (Oscar/BAFTA 2014 nominee). She has also worked closely with the BFI Film Audience Network and Hakawati on independent theatrical releases, and as an EP on short form content including Charity Film Award winners Me & My Stammer (2023) and Friend in Deed (2024). Name Me Lawand is Fleur’s debut producing credit in feature documentaries.

Sam Arnold, Producer, Name Me Lawand

Sam Arnold is a nominee for the BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) 2023 Breakthrough Producer Longlist and an independent deaf filmmaker spanning roles as a producer, director, 1st AD, and screenwriter. With his dedicated love for storytelling and visual artistry, he creates compelling cinematic experiences that enlighten audiences about deaf identity, culture, struggles, and sign language. Sam has been passionately involved in the development and making of Name Me Lawand marking his debut producing credit in feature documentaries.

Beyan Taher, Producer, Name Me Lawand
Beyan is a London based filmmaker, working across feature length films, shorts, and commercials in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Her work as a producer includes the BFI Doc Society funded, award winning feature documentary directed Name Me Lawand by Edward Lovelace. As an upcoming director, Beyan won the Best Pitch award at Edinburgh Pitch 2024 for her debut feature film as director. She is currently working on 13 short documentary videos with Olympic Athletes across the world and previously directed a three part women led short doc series across the UK, France and Germany. Name Me Lawand is Beyan’s debut producing credit in feature documentaries.

Neil Andrews, Producer, Name Me Lawand
Neil Andrews has had a long and esteemed career in commercial and film projects for Pulse Films. He has produced many landmark campaigns that have been awarded at Cannes, D&AD & British Arrows. Recent credits include Nike ‘Awaken Your Madness’, McVitie’s ‘The One’, B&Q ’The Voice’, Beats by Dre 'Defy The Noise', B&Q ‘Flip', John Lewis Christmas 'Give A Little Love', FIFA 'Midnight Ramadan League' and BlackPills ‘Do Not Disturb’ series. Name Me Lawand is Neil’s debut producing credit in feature documentaries.

Marisa Clifford, Producer, Name Me Lawand

Marisa Clifford is an Emmy® and Grammy nominated producer and co-founder of global media studio Pulse Films (2005 - 2022), overseeing production for the company's award-winning film, television, music content, advertising and digital media output. Her credits span across feature narratives (including 2016’s American Honey), feature documentary (most recently 2023’s Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now, 2022’s Name Me Lawand), TV series (Gangs of London), TV Specials (2022’s Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts) and award winning commercials and music videos.

About

About POV

Produced by American Documentary, POV is the longest-running independent documentary showcase on American television. Since 1988, POV has presented films on PBS that capture the full spectrum of the human experience, with a long commitment to centering women and people of color in front of, and behind, the camera. The series is known for introducing generations of viewers to groundbreaking works like Tongues Untied (1989), Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1992), Rabbit in the Room (1999), Of Civil Wrongs & Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story (2001), Made in L.A. (2007), American Promise (2013), Not Going Quietly (2021), While We Watched (2022), A House Made of Splinters (2022) and the mini-series And She Could be Next (2020). Throughout its history POV has featured the work of award-winning, innovative filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, Laura Poitras, Nanfu Wang, Frederick Wiseman, Emiko Omori, Janus Metz Pedersen and Ava DuVernay. In 2018, POV Shorts launched as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries. In 2024, Indiewire named seven POV films in its roundup of “The 50 Best Documentaries of the 21st Century”: Faya Dayi (2021), The Mole Agent (2020), Minding The Gap (2018), Cameraperson (2016), The Look of Silence (2015), The Act of Killing (2013) and After Tiller (2013). All POV programs are available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.

POV goes “beyond the broadcast” to bring powerful nonfiction storytelling to viewers wherever they are. Free educational resources accompany every film and a community network of thousands of partners nationwide work with POV to spark dialogue around today’s most pressing issues. POV continues to explore the future of documentary through innovative productions with partners such as The New York Times and The National Film Board of Canada and on platforms including Snapchat and Instagram.

POV films and projects have won 47 Emmy Awards, 28 George Foster Peabody Awards, 15 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards® and the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award. Learn more at pbs.org/pov and follow @povdocs on social media.

About American Documentary, Inc.

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia organization dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation.

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia organization dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation.

Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, the Open Society Foundations, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Park Foundation, and Perspective Fund. Additional funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Chris and Nancy Plaut, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee, Acton Family Giving, and public television viewers. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.

About PBS

PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirm that PBS’s premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Communications on Twitter.