When Serhii arrives at a boarding school for deaf students, he quickly discovers that life there is controlled by a gang known as the Tribe. To find his place, he joins their world of theft, violence and exploitation, gradually earning the trust of its leaders. But when he falls for Anya, a girl involved in the gang’s activities, his loyalty begins to shift, putting him at odds with the rules of the group.
Director Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi tells the entire story in Ukrainian Sign Language, without spoken dialogue, subtitles or voice-over. The cast consists of deaf and hard-of-hearing non-professional actors, and long, uninterrupted shots allow their gestures, expressions and actions to carry the story. There is no musical score to guide the viewer through what happens.
Winner of three awards at Cannes in 2014, THE TRIBE is an intense and often brutal drama about belonging, power and the consequences of breaking the rules. It asks the audience to follow the characters without the usual explanations, making every gesture and encounter part of the experience.