“Extraordinary Teens: School of Life and Deaf offered an unsentimental and inspirational insight into the life of a deaf teenager”- The Telegraph
“A joy to listen and learn”- The Express
AWARDS:
Shortlisted for the Grierson Awards for BEST SINGLE DOCUMENTARY.
School of Life and Deaf is a film that shows what it’s really like growing up as a deaf teenager. Told through the eyes of Lewis, a warm and expressive 15 year old who admits '' I can be a bit cheeky, I can be naughty" - so in other words is like any other teenager. The film follows Lewis and two other pupils over three terms at their school, Mary Hare, a boarding school exclusively for deaf pupils that has a reputation as one of the best in the world.
15-year-old Lewis, and sixth formers Fae and Andrew are all living away from home and facing life changing decisions. We follow Lewis as he decides to be fitted with a cochlear implant that he hopes will help him hear. With outcomes of this procedure uncertain, there is a chance that he will not benefit from the cochlear implant. Will he be able to hear his name- his lifelong aspiration- for the first time? Andrew, who says “I’m definitely different from your average 17-year-old” has decided to apply for the Head Boy role in a bid to fit in with his peers. 18-year-old twins, Fae and Mae, are about to leave Mary Hare for university. Racked with nerves, Fae worries about leaving the ‘bubble’, that is Mary Hare, and going back into the ‘hearing world’. She is particularly anxious about being separated from her twin sister who she always relies on for emotional support. We follow the school’s efforts to build up Fae’s confidence and prepare her for university life.
The film features moments of humour, teenage angst, stories of young people coming to terms with their deafness and an insight into a very different experience to that of the hearing world.