Apple’s 2022 film for people with disabilities, The Greatest, was an award winner. Over and over. A big act to follow. Bring in Taika Waititi and production company, Hungry Man. The new film, The Lost Voice, is a heartstring tugger, a fantasy about a young girl who is searching for her voice and the fanciful creature who helps her look. It was shot in New Zealand, so the country’s beautiful landscapes add to the film’s grandeur. The film was created by Apple’s internal team.

The film was launched ahead of International Day of People with Disabilities (December 3), like its predecessor, and is accompanied by an ebook. It is narrated by Dr Tristram Ingham, a Maori medical doctor, academic researcher and disability advocate who has a rare form of muscular dystrophy called facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. He uses iOS 17’s Personal Voice feature to narrate the film. As well as personal Voice, the film Live Speech, a feature on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS called Live Speech, that allows people to type responses which can then be read aloud by the system voice or in one’s Personal Voice.