If you were to ask the casual movie-goer one of the most important physical characteristics for an accomplished film director, odds are they’ll likely say eyesight. The idea that a film director can create a work of art in such a visual medium, while also being blind is unheard of. But that’s exactly what filmmaker Rodney Evans explores in his new documentary “Vision Portraits.”
As seen in the new trailer, “Vision Portraits” primarily focuses on the life of Evans, an award-winning filmmaker that is losing his vision, threatening to throw his entire career and passion into question. So, in a quest to find out how artists can create art without their vision, Evans speaks to a photographer, a dancer, and a writer to ask how their blindness hasn’t stopped their aspirations and how they’re able to thrive without one of their most important senses.
As mentioned, the film is written and directed by Rodney Evans, who is probably best known for his work on the film “Brother to Brother.” That film won the Special Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for a few Independent Spirit Awards.
“Vision Portraits” arrives in theaters on August 9 in New York City and August 23 in Los Angeles. A nationwide rollout will happen after.
Here’s the synopsis:
VISION PORTRAITS is a deeply personal documentary by award-winning, gay filmmaker Rodney Evans (Brother to Brother) as he explores how his loss of vision may impact his creative future, and what it means to be a blind or visually impaired creative artist. It’s a celebration of the possibilities of art created by photographer John Dugdale, dancer Kayla Hamilton, writer Ryan Knighton and the filmmaker himself, who each experience varying degrees of visual impairment. Using archival material alongside new illuminating interviews and observational footage of the artists at work, Evans has created a tantalizing meditation on blindness and creativity, a sensual work that opens our minds to new possibilities.
