2009 Newsletters
Great Adventure Leads to New Vision
Apr 15th, 2009
Great Adventure Leads to New Vision
Blindsight is the story of six blind Tibetan teenagers who, guided by seven-summit blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer and a team of Americans, set out to climb Lhakpa Ri, a peak on the flanks of Mount Everest.
Gripping Human Drama
Most of us will only visit Mount Everest via cinema. This gripping documentary gives us the opportunity to go on an extraordinary adventure following six blind teenagers as they attempt to climb to the summit of Lhakpa Ri, a 23,000-foot peak on the north side of Mount Everest.
>The idea for the unusual expedition originated when Erik Weihenmayer, the blind American mountain climber who famously summited Everest, was invited by Braille Without Borders co-founder Sabriye Tenberken to meet students at the school for the blind that she established in Lhasa, Tibet. Societal perceptions of the blind in Tibet are challenging at best, a place where blind people are outcasts, considered to have committed past life evils that brought them to sightlessness in this life.
Six students - Kyila, Sonam Bongso, Tashi, Gyenshen, Dachung and Tenzin - step up to the challenge. They start their training at low altitude learning rock climbing and how to use poles and crampons, skills that will be vital on the mountain. After training and team building they set off to climb the mountain that so few people have conquered, the mountain that holds such a powerful place in the Tibetan psyche.
No spoilers here. You'll have to see the movie to find out how the three weeklong journey goes and whether the teenagers and their American guides safely summit Lhakpa Ri. But, as it turns out, reaching the summit isn't the trek's true goal. The height of their achievement is their gain in self-esteem, their sense of success, of teamwork, trust in each other and the establishment of lifelong friendships - and most importantly, knowledge that they can do great things in the future.
Challenging Filmmaking
At an altitude where lack of oxygen makes it difficult for humans to breathe, walk, eat and sleep, director Lucy Walker and cinematographers Michael Brown and Petr Cikhart (and others) hoist their cameras and capture both the grandeur of the place and the intimacy of critical moments in which characters face fears and conquer doubts. Blindsight is beautifully shot and edited. The soundtrack is superbly appropriate.
Given her remarkable cast of characters, Walker does a brilliant, verite, job of weaving the six teenagers' stories - including the tale of Tashi's unexpected reunion with his long lost father - with those of Erik and his American team, and Sabriye and her partner, Paul Kronenberg, into a marvelously moving drama that gives insight into the inner strength blind people must have to overcome the seeing world's misconceptions about their abilities. "We are blind, but our hearts are not blind. They are not blind, but their hearts are blind," says Tenzin, with a shy smile.
Sabriye, who climbs along side the students, emerges as a sensitive and forceful commentator. An educator to the core, she went to Tibet on her own after being rejected by the German peace corps because of her blindness. She founded Tibet's first school for the blind, and succeeded in changing public perceptions about blindness and what the blind can do.
Additionally, Blindsight opens our eyes to Tibet, and gives us unusual access to an extraordinarily rich culture which is so different from our own. This film is a trip that must be taken.
- Jennifer Merin
In a far-reaching interview, Erik Speaks About Adversity in the Current Economic Climate and in Life. Listen to this outstanding Podcast on Curt Rosengren's M.A.P Maker Blog here .
In a far-reaching interview, Erik Speaks About Adversity in the Current Economic Climate and in Life. Listen to this outstanding Podcast on Curt Rosengren's M.A.P Maker Blog here . . .
To visit Curt Rosengren's M.A.P Maker Blog and to view a full text version of the interview
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