"FATMA" – A Deaf Girl’s Voice in Grief

Project Description:

FATMA is an upcoming graduate thesis short film. This powerful narrative centers on Fatma, a 20-year-old deaf Muslim woman navigating the emotional weight of grief during her grandfather’s funeral in a tightly-knit immigrant household in London.

The film explores profound themes including loss, spirituality, cultural expectations, and the emotional isolation of being unheard—literally and figuratively. Fatma, overwhelmed by the hospitality of her family’s grieving rituals, seeks to reclaim a private space for honest reflection and emotional expression.

What sets FATMA apart is its authentic representation of deaf and Muslim identities, as well as its critique of how communal rituals can sometimes suppress personal healing. The film challenges traditional narratives by giving voice to a character who speaks through British Sign Language and emotion, rather than words.

Why This Project Matters

This film serves as a vital representation of marginalized voices — the deaf, the Muslim immigrant, and the emotionally silenced. By focusing on a young woman’s quiet rebellion against grief, FATMA offers a rare and necessary perspective within both cinema and cultural discourse.

Director version

This story is inspired by my personal experience with my younger sibling when our grandfather passed away in October last year. This experience, combined with my interactions with deaf friends in Tasikmalaya and London, shaped this story. I spent three years with deaf friends in Tasikmalaya and eight months with those in London. I heard many stories about how difficult it is for deaf individuals to communicate and blend in during large family gatherings.

By merging these two experiences into this film, I aim to raise awareness about the lives of deaf people—how, like hearing individuals, they also experience grief when a loved one dies. The difference is, they face challenges in expressing their feelings and needs. This film means a lot to me personally because it is so close to my life. I want to share these feelings with the audience—especially with those who might be going through similar grief—that those feelings are valid, and everyone has a different way of coping with loss.

Funding Purpose

The production team is currently raising funds to ensure the film meets higher standards of authenticity, accessibility, and visual storytelling. Donations will directly contribute to:

-Casting deaf and Muslim actors to ensure authentic representation

-Location rentals, set design, and costume for cultural accuracy

-On-set accessibility support (e.g., sign language interpreters)

-Professional sound design to portray Fatma’s auditory point of view

-Post-production and editing

-Festival submissions to amplify the film’s reach

How You Can Help

Support from donors will help bring this meaningful story to life and elevate underrepresented voices in the film industry. Every contribution — big or small — will help ensure that FATMA is not just made, but made right.

You can get

-Special thanks in the credit

-Printed Poster of the Film

-Our graduation film screening invatation

-A better film thanks to your help

Our crew

Nafisa - Director and Writer

W. G. Nafisa Sukmana is an Indonesian filmmaker who focuses her work on education and social issues. Her directorial debut, Marojengja, explores the challenges faced by Indonesian high school-aged individuals who are unable to continue their formal education. The film was selected for the First-Time Filmmaker Sessions and the Bandung Initiative Awards. Currently, she is developing a new film titled FATMA, aimed at raising awareness about the lives of deaf individuals.

Vanessa - producer

Vanessa is a producer from Beijing with a background in Internet and New Media. She is known for her warm and collaborative spirit, and excels at bringing people together and managing team dynamics. Now based in London, she is pursuing her passion for filmmaking and is fully committed to bringing this project to life. Vanessa is especially drawn to social issues and underrepresented communities, and hopes to use film as a way to give voice to their stories.

Jingyu - Production Designer

Jingyu Chen was born and raised in Jiangsu China, where she studied filmmaking at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. She is now continuing to refine her studies in production design at UAL, and her experience as a director has made her even more adept at telling stories from the smallest of art details. Jingyu is a young filmmaker who likes films with niche themes. She insists on using experience as inspiration for her work and likes to find material from life.

Yiqun - Director of Photography

Yiqun is a cinematographer from China, with a background in film cinematography and production from the Communication University of Zhejiang. He is now based in London, continuing to deepen his practice in the field of cinematography. His visual approach focuses on subtle emotional expression, seeking to capture the inner worlds of characters.

Ge song - editor

Ge studied digital media during her undergraduate studies. She found the charm of film editing and decided to continue studying. She is willing to challenge editing BSL plot and try her best to express Fatma’s inner world.

David - sound editor

Di Feng (David) is a Chinese born sound designer and recordist. Prior to attending higher education, David spent his late primary to high school years in an international school, which sparked his interest in the culture of all sorts of different countries. This passion and interest is shown through his work, as he has worked on a multitude of projects that consists of a rich variety of languages and cultures. These projects range from the United Kingdom, China, Belgium, Korea, and the United States of America. With this project, David looks to add Islamic Indonesia to that list. His goal is to create an authentic portrayal of that culture sonically, and immersing the audience through sound.

Let’s help bring FATMA to the screen — and give space to stories that speak through silence.