Event
Going Blind and Going Forward
Documentary film director and journalist Joe Lovett has glaucoma, a disease that robs 4.5 million people of their vision world wide. Over the years, Joe has lost a significant amount of vision and in his concern about how to deal with more vision loss, he has started to talk with people who have already lost theirs; people who have lost their sight through blinding diseases like diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration, others through infection and accidents.
Some of the people he meets on the street, stopping to ask if they have time to talk. Each one has a fascinating story about dealing with the loss we fear most, the loss of sight.
Going Blind interweaves Joe's story, his mission to do what he can to slow down the course of his disease through medication and surgeries, with the stories of others whom he looks to for guidance in a darkening world.
Jessica Jones, a neighbor of Joe's, is one of the people participating in the film. They met on the street when Jessica was training her seeing eye dog Chef, a black lab.
A young, beautiful and talented artist who had been teaching in the New York City public school system, Jessica was exasperated by the lack of encouragement and opportunities after she had lost her sight to diabetic retinopathy in just 8 months at age 32. During the process of filming Jessica secured a job teaching art at a school in the Bronx for blind children with multiple disabilities.
Another is eleven-year old Emmet Teran. Emmet has low vision from albinism, a condition he inherited from his father who also has to deal with extremely low vision. Emmet works with a comedy troupe after school and uses humor to dismiss some of the hurts a child encounters from his peers.
These compelling individual stories provide the sighted with a glimpse into the world of low vision and blindness. Worldwide, 37,000,000 people have lost their vision. In the United States alone, Lighthouse International reports that 10 million people are legally blind (1.3 million) or visually impaired (8.7 million).
Given our aging population and the increasing prevalence of low vision in our society, it is of paramount importance that we understand sight loss and work towards a better future. Going Blind encourages and inspires people to take action to preserve, prolong, and maximize the precious gift of sight: for themselves, their loved ones, and society.
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LocationBellevue College Carlson Theater
3000 Landerholm Circle SE
Bellevue, WA 98007
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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