A film following up on the 2007 book, Seeing Beyond Sight, which is a collection of photographs taken by blind teenagers as well as telling the story of how educator Tony Deifell taught his these teenagers photography as a means of self-expression, is being directed by award-winning filmmaker Bryan Donnell.Donnell was Director of Photography for "The Elders," started by Nelson Mandela.
The film will revisit Tony Deifell's photography students nearly 10 years after they took a photography class with him at Governor Morehead School for the Blind. Donnell joins Deifell to document his road trip from Asheville to eastern North Carolina to find his former students.
"Some students had given up photography, many had continued with it, but all of them tell both humorous and sobering stories of what it is like being blind," the Seeing Beyond Sight Web site says.
Melody, 15, one of the blind photographers, explained why she liked taking pictures: "We can show other people that there is more to being blind or visually impaired than you think. We can do more that you think we can do."
You can watch rough cuts from the film here.