Love Sweet Sound

Love Sweet Sound is a short film about a recently blind woman who learns to adjust with her handicap. It explores themes of living with a disability, friendship, self-support and most importantly, courage. With a female leading role, this story represents women empowerment, inclusivity and real representation of Kenyans living with disability. Over 750,000 Kenyans have severe vision impairment and 224,000 are blind. Visual impairment is ranked sixth in the global burden of disease in terms of disability. In our lifetime, we have encountered someone who is blind or has poor eyesight, but we are unable to apprehend their endeavours. My main character Keya becomes a bridge to those who can see and those who can’t. In Love Sweet Sound, she shows the audience candidly her clumsiness, her overwhelmed senses and her disorientation. The audience goes through the journey with Keya, learning and adjusting with her. In the bustling streets of Nairobi, an unlikely friendship is formed where they learn to open up to each other. The film’s core message is to help people understand what someone with visual impairment experiences. Shining a light on people with blindness and visual impairment will amplify their voices and allow them to be embraced by society. We become better when our society lives in harmony with each other. Kenya is progressing at a rapid rate and we are now incorporating women and people with disabilities in our workplaces. In this modern society, we elevate everyone and allow the people with disabilities to be more able, to live life on their own terms. They are people like you and me, and their handicap does not make them less of a human being. This is a fearless, unapologetic and a striking film that needs to be seen. Africa is ready, so is the world.

Neha Manoj Shah is a screenwriter and director from Nairobi, Kenya. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Loughborough University, UK. Her previous works include 3 short films which have won awards and have screened at festivals around the world. Her short film ‘FACE MASK on Sale’ won awards in Italy, France, United Kingdom, Kenya and South Africa. She won the prestigious Best African Female Director award in France in 2021. Neha’s style of work revolves around female perspectives and emotion; telling stories from a different perspective of life and experience. Through film she is able to alter perceptions and create a change that is very much needed in this world.

Disability in Kenya is overlooked. A woman being blind can make her vulnerable on the streets of Nairobi, if she is alone. Those living with disabilities are dependent on their carers which can be taxing to both parties. Losing your eyesight is a very scary thought; to be in a never ending darkness, a void you can’t come out of. It would make anyone give up. It takes a lot of courage and mental strength to keep pushing, to keep living. Keya, my main character, doesn’t play the victim. She is headstrong, showing willpower and strength. She doesn’t let her blindness disable her or stop her from getting on with her daily routine. This in itself is inspiring and empowering. We watch Keya transform from being in denial of her blindness and not needing anyone to learning how to ‘hear’ her surroundings with Anthony’s help. I want to immerse the audience in her world, going on a journey with her, to feel what she is feeling and to hear the sounds she hears as she navigates the streets of Nairobi, transitioning from one environment to another. Sound design is a prominent element in the film. Her apartment is calm and quiet where she has control, whereas the street is loud and chaotic, confusing Keya. The street becomes a dark map where she loses her orientation. It is in the cafe that she learns to focus on sounds, to control what she can hear. For such a film, we have to be bold and daring. The characters and the story dictated it. As a filmmaker I want to explore and push boundaries. This story took me to a different dimension, a more immersive form of storytelling.

The production crew for Love Sweet Sound were 100% Kenyan filmmakers who I have had the pleasure of working with on different productions. They were hand-picked by me (as a director) for their professionalism, respect and sensitivity to the subject and the characters in the film. They are skilled professionals who have worked on both local and international productions and they actively play an important role in building the film industry. We had members of the LGBTQIA community within our crew as well as those from multi-cultural backgrounds. The production was led by two women – Neha Manoj Shah and Juliana Kabua. We had a total of 18 crew members of which six (33%) were women.