"Blind Loves," a documentary from Slovakia, follows four blind individuals as they live their lives. It will show May 9 at the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore. Here's the film description:This playful, moving documentary from Slovakia incorporates reenactments and even animation as it examines the subject of love through blind individuals (many of whom are also dating or married to blind partners) and their pursuits of happiness. We meet Peter, a music teacher with a fantastic imagination and inspired sense of humor; Elena and Laco, both vision-impaired, who are expecting their first child; blind Miro and partially-sighted Monika, whose relationship faces the added obstacle of family objections due to ethnic differences; and teenaged Zuzana, whose blindness adds an extra wrinkle to her search for friendship and love in a new high school.
Made in close collaboration with its subjects, director Juraj Lehotsky's documentary tells each individual's story in a manner befitting their personality -- resulting in
"hybrid" documentary elements in which its subjects reenact events from their romantic lives, and even, in one case, become the hero of an animated adventure-film-within-the-film.
Even more amazingly, Lehotsky manages to express new insight into one of the oldest subjects in storytelling, let alone storytelling on film: love. As he wrote of his film's subjects in his notes for the film's North American premiere at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, "Their world may be lacking sight, but it can be richer in spirituality… Maybe it's they who can really understand the true essence of happiness."
Director Juraj Lehotsky (not in attendance) studied film directing at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Bratislava, and has been making short documentaries since 1995. Blind Loves is his first feature documentary.
Here's the review of "Blind Loves" from Variety when it showed at the Cannes Film Festival:
Engrossing, beautifully crafted docu "Blind Loves" features four non-sighted subjects repping a range of age and experience. They demonstrate and discuss their passions and anxieties while managing independent lives. First feature-length title from Slovak helmer Juraj Lehotsky boasts loads of low-key visual humor in its witty production design. Some charming moments play like Georges Melies crossed with Jan Svankmajer. Touching yet totally unsentimental pic has already scored domestic distribution. A quality find for specialist webs and niche arthouse, it will screen at additional prestige fests in coming months.
First and longest episode intros Peter, a middle-aged music teacher, and his serene, sweater-knitting wife, and includes delightful, surreal animation. Second follows confident Marko, a member of Romany minority, and his difficult romance with timid, partially sighted Monika. Third concentrates on capable housewife Elena who practices bathing and changing a doll while confiding her hopes and fears about impending motherhood. Rounding out the package is pretty, text message-addicted teen Zuzana who longs for her first real relationship. Artful compositions, strong sound design and music provide further links between the segs. Tech credits are top notch and trim running time just right.
