Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival

The Bedouin village of El Sayed, in the heart of the Negev Desert, houses the largest community of deaf people in the world. Deafness is a way of life, hearing aids are eschewed and sign language has been the main mode of communication in this village for generations. In fact, El Sayed has developed its own unique form of sign language studied extensively by linguists. When Salim, a villager is presented with an opportunity to offer his son Muhammad a cochlear implant paid for by the Israeli health authority, the close-knit community has mixed reactions. Muhammad's adjustment is fraught with uncertainty and pain, and is further complicated by the community's marginalized existence outside of Israel's electrical grid and basic infrastructure. Poignantly shot, with a unique use of sound and silence, Voices From El Sayed explores the richness of deaf culture while questioning the reliability of contemporary solutions in dealing with the deafness. The nature of identity, in a world where ability is all too often defined by access to all five senses is at the heart of this moving portrait of a community.