Silent Sam

6.7 2018 | 21 min

Sam is a 27-year-old music-teaching, sovereign ring-wearing, chanting Buddhist. He is the lead singer of an up-and-coming punk band - but he’s also mute ... at least for most of the time. After two unsuccessful vocal chord operations, Sam spends most of his time in pain and on voice rest. Yet, by communicating silently through writing notes, mouthing words and blowing kisses (one for yes and two for no), he still somehow manages to be the chattiest person in the room. As he sacrifices speaking on a daily basis in order to battle through the excruciating pain of singing, Sam finds himself and his voice at a crossroads - give up on his dreams of music or continue singing and risk remaining silent forever? Silence takes its mental toll and his sense of isolation deepens. Whilst exploring new treatment for his voice, navigating work at a door factory and maintaining his loving relationship with girlfriend Tilly, Sam’s journey leads him to have a radical revelation.