The Interior World Of Blindness

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The Interior World Of Blindness

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Project Name	The Interior World Of Blindness	Posted in	Short Film	Director	Peter Middleton and James Spinney

Some people are born blind; others lose their vision as a result of a tragic accident or due to an ophthalmological disturbance. Frankly, although both realities are heartrendingly sad, in my opinion the first is less painful because someone who has never seen the light will tend to create an ideal world inside his/her mind. Someone, on the other hand, who loses his/her sight, goes on to live in the dark world of endless vivid memories. The second situation describes exactly what happened to writer and theologian John Hull who, after years of deteriorating vision, lost the last traces of light sensation in 1983. For the next three years, he kept a diary, on audiocassette, all about his interior world of blindness.

''The world into which I am being dragged with my loved ones will engulf us. There will be no return. Blindness is permanent and irreversible. My life is in crisis''
John Hull , 16th September 1983

Hull’s original audio recordings form the narrative backbone of the film ''Notes on Blindness: Rainfall'', a series of three short films, supported by The New York Times which in its entirety (Memory, Panic and Rainfall) premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival (16-24 January 2014). Directed by London-based filmmakers Peter Middleton and James Spinney, the film was nominated for the ICA Experimental Film Award and won the Best Short Documentary award at Hot Docs 2013. It is currently being developed into the feature film INTO DARKNESS which will be produced by Archer’s Mark, an independent film production company based in London, UK.

A unique and cinematic amalgamation of documentary and drama, this will most definitely transport you into the strange and insular world of blindness.

{YatzerTip}: Read the beautiful story behind ‘Notes on Blindness’ at The New York Times.