BLINDSIGHT

Origin Country: UK/Tibet
Runtime: 104 MIN
Presentation Format: 35 MM

DIR Lucy Walker PROD Sybill Robson Orr EXEC PROD Steven Haft DP Petr Cikhart, Keith Partridge, Michael Brown ED Sebastian Duthy MUS Nitin Sawhney FEATURING Sabriye Tenberken, Erik Weihenmayer

Short Note:
Erik Weihenmayer accomplished the unthinkable when, despite his blindness, he climbed the peak of Mount Everest. His feat impressed Sabriye Tenberken, a blind educator and adventurer who established the first school for the blind in Lhasa. Together they concocted a plan of astonishing courageÑor insanityÑ to lead six blind teenagers on an ascent of the 23,000-foot Lhakpa Ri peak on the north side of Everest, with director Lucy Walker (DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND) along for a harrowing and inspiring journey.

Long Note:
Climbing Mount Everest is a life long goal for many, requiring years of training andpreparation. Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to conquer Everest, is going to lead six blind Tibetan teenagers with little to no training in pursuit of that same dream.

Directed by Lucy Walker (DEVILÕS PLAYGROUND), BLINDSIGHT introduces us to the students of a unique Tibetan school for blind children. In a region where a staggering one in 70 Tibetans is blind, children are often stigmatized and ostracized for being blind by their own communities. Inspired by Erik's story, their teacher, Sabriye Tenderken, invites Erik to meet her students and help organize an expedition to guide six classmates to the summit of Lhakpa Ri, a peak on the north side of Everest. With Erik's team of guides, the group sets out for an adventure beyond compare.

Interspersed with revealing and heartbreaking portraits of each student, the most awe-inspiring mountains in the world set the stage for this harrowing and charming adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
-Natalie McMenemy

Biography:
Lucy was born in London and graduated with first class honors from New College, Oxford with an MA Oxon in literature, and directed theatre. She won a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the graduate film program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she won acontest to direct a video for Cowboy Junkies, directed three award-winning short films and received an MFA.

Lucy's directing credits include Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues, for which she was twice nominated for Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Directing, and Devil's Playground - Amish Teenagers in the Modern World about the struggles of Amish teenagers during the period of rumspringa. Financed by HBO, Wellspring and Channel 4, Devil's Playground premiered at Sundance Film Festival and went on to many accolades and awards,including winning Sony-AFI digital Best Documentary and overall Best Film, a special jury mention at Karlovy-Vary Film Festival, audience award at Sarasota Film Festival, and nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, and for three Emmys (for Best Documentary, Best Directing, and Best Editing).

Director of Amish-run-amok doc "Devil's Playground," Lucy Walker journeys to the Himalayas for this epic portrait of a group of blind Tibetan teenagers who climb a section of Mount Everest, lead by famed blind climber Eric Weihenmayer.