The silence is deafening in this beautiful and tragic documentary screening as part of this year’s Antenna Documentary Film Festival.
Silent Voice is the Hot Docs Award-winning directorial debut of filmmaker Reba Valerik about the human toll of homophobia once a person has left the country of oppression and the beginnings of another mental battle. In it, we meet Khavaj, a young mixed martial arts fighter who has fled Chechnya when his brother discovers his sexuality and wants to kill him in Ramzan Kadyrov’s anti-gay regime and has to find refuge in Belgium.
The film opens as we see Khavaj, whose voice is damaged and another man representing an LGBTIQ organisation in Belgium trying and help homosexual people who have fled their country. They try to convince a caseworker to give him refugee status to stay in the country, explaining that he needs to stay and that he has been in the country for a month. We know that Khavaj was tortured in Chechenya for his sexuality.
While we never really see Khavaj’s face or hear him talk, you can feel the incredible pain and frustration that he has had to leave the country to seek refuge in a new one leaving his friends and family behind. All the memories he has left are the audio messages he can’t respond with because it might lead people to find him.
Silent Voice is not the first film to look into the world of Chechyna’s anti-gay purge. David France’s Welcome To Chechnya, released only eighteen months prior, pushes dramatic techniques to show the heightened risk of queer people that live in the region. Valerik’s directing feels minimal and at points peaceful in comparison, showing us that while the threat is passed, there is always something hiding around the corner for someone like Khavaj. The overbearing question of whether he should respond to the family when they want to kill him or tell him that they can be ‘cured of his homosexuality’. The film’s length, which is just shy of an hour, might lead people to think it’s a quick burn, while in reality, the film itself packs a punch and has the depth and intensity to make it feel like you could have just experienced a feature-length film.
Silent Voice is an unmissable film for any gay activists and allies to watch as it shows that we have a lot of work to do towards getting rid of any form of homophobic aggression. It’s a tough watch, but Reba Valerik handles the story of Khavaj with a lot of care. So make sure you check this one out.
Trailer:
Silent Voice is screening at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival; you can find more information here: