The films and methods of Nicolas Philibert, maker of Etre et avoir, have shown him to be one of contemporary cinema’s most acclaimed documentarists. In The Land of the Deaf is an elegantly spare and thoughtful portrait of the rich, diverse, but often isolated culture of the deaf community. The film has tremendous power and value: it educates and transports us to another way of occupying this world, and it does so in a pleasurable, unrushed and intelligent fashion.

Léopold, a young schoolboy, returns from boarding school to spend the summer vacations with his family. He is delighted to see his grandmother Eglantine again. The good times spent with all those close to him make him forget the stress of school. But with the start of the new school year fast approaching, Léopold learns of Eglantine's death.