It starts with a black background and the sound of trains going by. You are automatically thrown into the frame of mind of someone who just sees black, or rather, does not see and lives in the visual equivalent of a void. And that, in essence, is what the film is about.
As we follow Trevor’s honest account of his experiences turning blind and coping with it, we get an insight into what exactly it is to join the dots together to turn that void into an image. It is a very personal and emotional journey which also manages to inform the viewer of some of the logistics behind blindness in relation to the entertainment industry.
Although director Pablo Romero-Fresco plays a modest part on-screen, accompanying Trevor to different locations and having informal chats with him, he is in fact an expert in how to make audiovisual media accessible to people with hearing or visual impairments though subtitles or audiodescription. Pablo Romero-Fresco has led many research projects on the subject and is currently involved in a whole host of projects working towards either putting in place or improving accessibility to the media for those with hearing or visual impairments.
The film is a great reminder of the simple things we take for granted, but more importantly, it is a reminder of the importance of positive thinking and finding solutions. To top it off, the film uses beautiful cinematography and the editing seamlessly blends alternating scenes, interviews and imagery with overlapping dialogue to bring about an overall warmth and depth.
http://www.jostrans.org/issue20/int_romero.php
http://www.jostrans.org/issue20/art_romero.php
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/ava/Pages/default.aspx
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