What does a filmmaker do when he finds out he is losing his eyesight but his doctors don’t want to talk about what his future might be? In filmmaker Joe Lovett’s case, you take to the streets. It’s there he meets others who have lost their sight, chronicling their struggle and films efforts to save his remaining vision. Going Blind is a unique documentary film that increases public awareness of sight loss and low vision, issues that profoundly affect the lives of thousands of people here in our metro and those who love them.
Director Joseph Lovett has glaucoma, a disease that robs 4.5 million people worldwide of their vision. After years of slowly losing his sight, Joe decides to take action: to investigate how people all over the country respond to vision-loss. His search begins small, with people Joe meets on the streets of his hometown New York City and gradually leads him to places and people around the country, of all different ages and backgrounds. Each has a fascinating story about dealing with the vision loss caused by sight-robbing diseases, infections and accidents. Going Blind interweaves Joe’s story with that of his fellow subjects and invites us into the intimate spaces of the visually impaired and blind. As a filmmaker, Joe uses the tool he knows best to gather information, to connect with individuals and to find answers to share with the world.
Funding generously provided by:
Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation
Pfizer Ophthalmics
Gibney Family Foundation
Allene Reuss Memorial Trust
National Eye Institute
Allergan Foundation
Fred A Lennon Charitable Trust
Rudin Foundation
May & Samuel Rudin Family Foundation
Reid Williams Foundation
