Directed by Marta Gomez and Paula Iglesias, Flying Hands centres around a school for deaf students in a remote part of Pakistan. Surrounded by picturesque mountains, the school was founded by Aniqa, a hearing mother who became an advocate for the deaf when her own daughter, Nargis, was born with hearing loss.

When Aniqa gave birth to her daughter twenty years earlier, she witnessed the stigma and prejudice experienced by those who cannot hear. In rural Pakistan, it is common for children with hearing loss to not have names. Rather, some are referred to as merely as “Deaf”. Aniqa, however, is determined to open up educational opportunities for deaf children.

Of course, the idea of making a Spanish-made documentary film about Deaf Culture in Pakistan gives this critic pause. One wonders about Orientalism, and whether the filmmakers truly grasp the cultural nuances of the world they are documenting. But Gomez and Iglesias gives us a beautiful tale of the power of parents’ advocacy.

While Aniqa’s journey is central to Flying Hands, the filmmakers take care not to turn her into a Hearing Saviour. Flying Hands includes the perspectives of children living with deafness, including Nargis herself. In perhaps the most poignant scene, Nargis reads the diary entries her mother wrote when she first realized Nargis was deaf. Nargis, in a beautifully human moment, cries and explains she is unsure how to react to reading about her mother’s pain. Now fluent in sign and able to communicate orally, she is at a loss for words. Nargis appreciates it was difficult to raise a daughter whose health was stigmatized, but it is also profoundly difficult for her to read about it.

Ultimately, this is a visually stunning film that will make you believe in the power of parents to create change.