Notes on blindness short film

After losing sight in 1983, john hull began keeping an audio diary, a unique testimony of loss, rebirth and renewal, excavating the interior world of blindness. This was followed in 2014 by the emmy awardwinning short, also entitled notes on blindness, which screened at sundance film festival and won best documentary at encounters short film and animation festival. One of john hulls original tape recorders, in a still from the film. Actors lipsynch to the voices of the family, embedding johns original audio recordings within compelling cinematography and textured sound design. Upon their publication in 1990, oliver sacks described the work as the. Blindness is a 2008 englishlanguage thriller film and an adaptation of the 1995 novel of the same name by portuguese author jose saramago about a society suffering an epidemic of blindness. Based on the audio diaries of academic and theologian john hull, this film offers an impressionistic recreation of his slow descent into blindness. Lipsyncing his voice from the tapes to reenacted scenes of his daytoday life and staging the vivid dreams he began to have, the filmmakers have created an absorbing documentary that explores a. Jan 16, 2014 an official selection of the 2014 sundance film festival. With exclusive access to these original recordings, notes on blindness encompasses dreams, memory and imaginative life, excavating the interior world of. The blindness in the platonic allegory serves as a barrier to understanding just as the blindness in the novel is itself something incomprehensible the doctors are baffled as to its cause, how it spreads and what can stop it. Sensitive, poetic and thoughtprovoking, the film charts hulls journey through. Following the emmywinning short film of the same name, notes on blindness takes a creative approach to the documentary form. Drawing on johns original recordings, notes on blindness is a poetic account of loss, rebirth and renewal, and the discovery of a world beyond sight.

Notes on blindness, peter middleton and james spinney. Notes on blindness peter middleton and james spinney january 16, 2014 after the writer and theologian john hull became completely blind in 1983, he kept an audio diary of his experience. In 1983, after years of deteriorating vision, the writer and theologian john hull lost the. In order to make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began keeping a diary on audiocassette. Theres so much in the diaries, said spinney, that we felt like we needed to find other mediums. Jan 16, 2014 notes on blindness peter middleton and james spinney january 16, 2014 after the writer and theologian john hull became completely blind in 1983, he kept an audio diary of his experience. Jul 01, 2016 directed by peter middleton, james spinney. Having lost his sight in 1983, just before the birth of his son, theologian john hull began recording his experiences of blindness on a tape recorder. Notes on blindness, a featurelength adaptation of its makers previous sff short film effort notes on blindness. Short film the muse screens with selected shows of notes on blindness between fri 1 thu 7 jul the muse pg dir tim walkergb 201414 mins ben whishaw, kirsten mcmenamy legend has it that if a human man falls in love with a mermaid she will grow legs. After the writer and theologian john hull became completely blind in 1983, he kept an audio diary of his experience. Saramago originally refused to sell the rights for a film adaptation.

Viewed together, the notes on blindness feature film and virtual reality experience illuminate cinemas greatest advantage. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began documenting his experiences on audio cassette. The most precise, deep and beautiful account of blindness i have ever read. Jun 27, 2016 notes on blindness, a featurelength adaptation of its makers previous sff short film effort notes on blindness. This article about a short documentary film is a stub. Hull, began recording his thoughts and experiences of sightloss. In 1983, after decades of steady deterioration, writer and theologian john hull became totally blind. Nov 19, 2018 notes on blindness, directed by peter middleton and james spinney, is a minute recreation of the story of writer john hulls experience of going blind. The new york times opdoc also entitled notes on blindness screened at sundance and sxsw 2014 before going on to. Mar 10, 2016 short film on blindness is a measured.

The filmmakers of notes on blindness worked with one of europes leading sound designers, joakim sundstrom, and have created a rich, immersive soundtrack calibrated specifically for blind and sighted audiences. Short film the muse screens with selected shows of notes on blindness between fri 1 thu 7 jul the muse pg dir tim walkergb 201414 mins ben whishaw, kirsten mcmenamy. Notes on blindness, directed by peter middleton and james spinney, is a minute recreation of the story of writer john hulls experience of going blind. Over three years he recorded in excess of sixteen hours of material. Notes on blindness is the first feature film to debut a companion vr experience. Following on from the emmy awardwinning short film of the same name, notes on blindness is an ambitious. But the central conceit of notes on blindness is to emulate hulls descent into blindness using visuals. Notes on blindness is a feature film and multiplatform interactive project based on the audio diaries of writer and academic john hull, who after decades of steady deterioration became totally blind in 1983 to help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began keeping a diary on audiocassette. Jun 30, 2016 simone kirby in notes on blindness but his determination grows, over the course of the film, to grasp the specifics of his disability as an opportunity, not just a setback.

While the feature film is marked by its lush, expressive cinematography, the vr project is an attempt to navigate the experience of blindness. Part of the reason notes on blindness works so well is because the vr headwear feels like a gag over your eyes and ears. Jul 03, 2016 maximising its accessibility, notes on blindness is available in audiodescribed and enhanced soundtrack versions, the latter transforming the film into a singular aural experience. Its now a multimedia project consisting of a short film, a documentary and this virtual reality experience. Into darkness is now available to download for samsung gear for free at the oculus store. Notes on blindness 2016 u 1h 26m biographical documentaries based on the audio diaries of academic and theologian john hull, this film offers an impressionistic recreation of.

Following on from the emmy awardwinning short film of the same name, notes on blindness premiered at the sundance film festival 2016 and won the special jury prize at san francisco. The film does more than simply tell an interesting true story which the filmmakers stumbled upon. Hull, who became totally blind after decades of steadily deteriorating vision. Notes on blindness short documentary response have you. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, hull began documenting his experiences on audio cassette and wrote his autobiography touching the rock. Following the emmy awardwinning short film of the same name, notes on blindness takes a creative approach to the. Ends on tuesday dec 20th in 1983, after decades of steady deterioration, writer and theologian john hull became totally blind.

Notes on blindness is a new documentary created by peter middleton and james spinney, based on the awardwinning short film of the same topic. The feature film received its world premiere at the sundance film festival new frontiers section, where it played alongside a companion virtual reality experience, notes on blindness. It uses that story as a jumpingoff point to explore actual ideas in this case, dealing with the loss of a sense, and how the experience of lacking this sense can be. Into darkness is available for anyone to see for free in the electric cinema foyer from 2. After becoming completely blind in his mid40s, respected professor of theology, john m. Notes on blindness letterboxd social film discovery. Notes on blindness touching story of blind birmingham. It will also be exhibited alongside the theatrical release of the feature film. This film is a dramatization using those recordings. Actors lipsynch to the voices of the family, embedding hulls. Following the emmy awardwinning short film of the same name, notes on.

Adventurous and intimate and unworried by the wall dividing fiction and nonfiction, peter middletons and james spinneys debut, notes on blindness, is a wondrous film, a thing of magic and a. Notes on blindness 2016 tvpg 1h 26m dramas based on the audio diaries of academic and theologian john hull, this film offers an impressionistic recreation of his slow descent into blindness. After losing sight, john hull knew that if he did not try to understand blindness it. The first of these, rainfall, won the best short documentary award at hot docs 20. Jan 25, 2016 notes on blindness is the kind of documentary that aims to be formally distinct something i wish was standard for the art. Jun 29, 2016 the tapes, along with interviews with john and his wife marilyn, make up notes on blindness, first a short produced for the new york times, now the debut documentary feature from directors james. The documentary dives into the experiences hull had and tries to make you feel what he felt. The manner in which sight, sound, and cognition are given the arena to work in tandem is unlike any other form of art. This track uses enhanced sound design and additional audio from characters in the film to guide the audience through the story.

Notes on blindness is the kind of documentary that aims to be formally distinct something i wish was standard for the art. In english oliver sacks, the great neurologist, wrote that john hulls memoir, on sight and insight. An official selection of the 2014 sundance film festival. Following on from the emmy awardwinning short film of the same name, notes on blindness is an ambitious and groundbreaking work, both affecting and innovative and one of the most essential british documentaries of the year. The notes on blindness series is the first time johns original audio recordings have been heard in public. Into darkness is an immersive virtual reality vr project based on john hulls sensory and psychological experience of blindness released alongside the feature film. The new york times opdoc also entitled notes on blindness screened at sundance and sxsw 2014 before going on to win an emmy award in september 2015.

In 1983, after years of deteriorating vision, the writer and theologian john hull lost the last traces of light sensation. Encompassing dreams, memory and his imaginative life, the films take a. Notes on blindness is a 2016 british documentary film directed by peter middleton and james spinney. Rainfall at hot docs in 20, the film evolved into a 12minute short with the help of new york times op docs one year later. In the summer of 1983, just days before the birth of his first son, writer and theologian john hull went blind. John hulls original audio recordings form also the basis of this project, a sixpart interactive documentary.

It was the first time the recording had been played for almost 25 years. The creative team behind notes on blindness have previously adapted extracts from the same source material into a pair of critically acclaimed short films. The film was written by don mckellar and directed by fernando meirelles, with julianne moore and mark ruffalo as the main characters. When directors pete middleton and james spinney do clever things like keeping bits of information and action offscreen while we hear hulls frustration over having to ask for descriptions of whats happening, the film achieves its goal. Following the emmy awardwinning short film of the same name, the feature version of notes on blindness takes a creative approach to the documentary form. Upon their publication in 1990, oliver sacks described the work as the most extraordinary, precise, deep and beautiful account of blindness i have ever read. Notes on blindness is a 2016 british documentary film directed by peter middleton and james.

The manner in which sight, sound, and cognition are given. Following on from the emmy awardwinning short film of the same name, notes on blindness is an ambitious and groundbreaking work, both affecting and innovative. Notes on blindness 2016 u 1h 26m biographical documentaries based on the audio diaries of academic and theologian john hull, this film offers an impressionistic recreation of his slow descent into blindness. Notes on blindness short documentary response have you ever.

Notes on blindness is one of the first great virtual. Simone kirby in notes on blindness but his determination grows, over the course of the film, to grasp the specifics of his disability as an opportunity, not just a setback. Maximising its accessibility, notes on blindness is available in audiodescribed and enhanced soundtrack versions, the latter transforming the film into a singular aural experience. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began documenting his experiences on audiocassette. Following the emmy awardwinning short film of the same name, notes on blindness takes a creative approach to the documentary form. In a medium that heavily depends on visuality to generate meaning, this captivating hybrid docufiction attempts to render the experience of blindness. The first of these, rainfall, won the best short documentary award at hot docs 20 and was nominated for the ica experimental film award. Peter middleton and james spinney have codirected awardwinning fiction films and documentaries that include rainfall, winner of the 20 best short documentary award at hot docs toronto, and the emmy awardwinning short film notes on blindness, which was commissioned by the new york times and premiered at the 2014 sundance film festival. Notes on blindness is one of the first great virtual reality.