Notes on Blindness

Life is Climbing

May 2023 •Japanese

Visually impaired climber Koichiro Kobayashi, also known as Koba, relies on the voice of his site guide, Naoya Suzuki, as if it were his own eyes. In 2021, the pair travels to the United States with the aim of standing on the spire of the bright red sandstone Fisher Towers in Utah

Seeing Through the Darkness

November 2024 •Ukrainian

Carried by an immersive sound environment that plunges us in the reality and the perceptions of these resilient and inspiring people, this film questions our own blindness face to violence and suffering of our time — despite the overabundance of images that reach us — and highlights the urgency of lending an ear to hear these stories.

Maeterlinck in the dark

May 2023 •Russian

The story of a boy who suddenly lost his sight as a result of cancer. He has a hard time getting along with new people and spends all his time with horses. One day, the chairman of the local society of the blind calls him and offers him the main role in a play based on Maeterlinck’s play “The Blind,” where all the roles are played by blind people, and the play takes place in the forest.

My Friends Call Me Tony

January 1975 •English

Meet Tony Rossi, a 10-year-old boy who can only distinguish light from shadow. Despite this difficulty, he leads a very active life. The short documentary shows the ingenious ways in which Tony manages his life. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.

Poem of the Young Hearts

January 1969 •English

An independently produced documentary about growing up as a blind youth in 1960's Japan. It focuses on a group of elementary level students being taught by Mr. Kawai at the Zoshigaya Branch of Tokyo Educational University. Filmed over 12 years, the documentary tracks these student's lives up through their young adulthood. It follows the journey of one student in particular, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, a young boy who eventually learns a passion for music and wants to become a recording artist. Expanded from director Hideo Hamada's documentary short "But We Can Gaze!"

Shot in the Dark

January 2017 •German

Shot in the Dark is a documentary on three blind photographers: Pete Eckert, Sonia Soberats and Bruce Hall. A documentary on three blind people who devote their lives to creating images. What do they see in their mind's eyes? Do they sense that which we sighted miss, overlook, or don't take into consideration? Their images, as we sighted can see, are extraordinary. "Even with no input the brain keeps creating images," says Pete Eckert. Sonia Soberats states, "I only understood how powerful light is after I went blind." Shot in the Dark is a journey into an unfamiliar yet fascinating realm. "My camera is like a bridge," claims Bruce Hall. All these photographers embrace fantasy, chance, and contingency at a fundamental level. Shot in the Dark enriches our understanding of perception and creation. We all close our eyes in sleep, the sighted and blind alike, and in our dreams - we see.

The Blind Child

January 1964 •Dutch

With the use of montage sequences, voiced over with the observations of the children, van der Keuken was able to use artistic expression to portray the sightless children’s unique perspective of the world.

Back to the light

March 2024 •Spanish

The Illumination

April 2017 •English

When Gordon Gund went blind in 1970 at age 30 due to retinitis pigmentosa, he resolved to find a cure for the disease and created the Foundation Fighting Blindness. After decades of scientific research, a major breakthrough emerged, and this short film showcases the inspirational story of a 17-year-old Belgian boy who is a beneficiary of this work.

My Name is Hungry Buffalo

October 2017 •Czech

I Only See What I Believe

May 2020 •French

The story of Laetitia, a blind woman passionate about violin.

The World at Arm's Length

December 2018 •German

Sven has a dream. Once in his life he wants to walk the Camino de Santiago - the Way of St. James. But that seems impossible, Sven has Usher syndrome, a disease which slowly, inexorably robs him of hearing and vision. Profoundly deaf and completely blind since 2010, he can only communicate using a special hearing aid in the spoken language.

Blindspot

November 2020 •English

A brief glimpse through the life of Granny Lue. A woman of faith, fearlessness, and fierce energy, she never allowed her disability to determine her ability to live.

The Bionic Eye

January 2012 •English

I See in the Dark

September 2019 •Slovenian

Confessions of people who have lost their sight during their lives. What are their feelings and how do they view their apparent handicap?

Quattro Quinti

October 2023 •Italian

Au-delà du regard

October 2024 •French

Notes on Blindness

July 2016 •English

After losing sight in 1983, John Hull began keeping an audio diary, a unique testimony of loss, rebirth and renewal, excavating the interior world of blindness. Following on from the Emmy Award-winning short film of the same name, Notes on Blindness is an ambitious and groundbreaking work, both affecting and innovative.

Nevidím

January 2022 •Slovak

Rudy & Des

May 2016 •English

Rudy & Des is a short documentary that tells the story of true friendship between two friends who find a common bond in their love of pro wrestling.