Name Me Lawand – Grand Geneva Award

The Geneva Grand Prize is awarded to the film: Name Me Lawand by Edward Lovelace

The prize is awarded by the FIFDH 2024 International jury, comprising Alain Kassanda, Chadi Aoun, Ella Glendining, Mariana Lorenzo and Abdul Aziz Muhamat. The prize is donated by the City and State of Geneva.

“From a disability politics perspective, this film is progressive and powerful. The character of Lawand becomes politicized, embracing his deafness as integral to his identity rather than a barrier to overcome. Through immersive filmmaking and intricate sound design, we are pulled into the intimate odyssey of a young boy navigating childhood trauma and displacement, all while striving to find his place in today’s difficult world. A tribute to all the children out there, facing the incredible.”

Lawand, a 6-year-old Kurdish boy, deaf from birth, is trying to adapt to his new environment in Derby, in the United Kingdom. He is learning to communicate in sign language, after a traumatic year spent on the road to exile.