Lucy Walker Retrospective

Blindsight

Lucy Walker

In Tibet it is believed that blind children are possessed by demons; they are rejected by their parents and despised by the society. However, Sabriye Tenberken, herself a blind person, helps such children and introduces them into life through a mountaineering school. Set beneath the enchanting Himalayas, Blindsight follows the adventure of six Tibetan teenagers eager to climb the 70000 metres high Lhakpa Ri, on the north side of Mount Everest. What seems an impossible adventure in itself is made even more difficult by the fact that these are blind teenagers.

Lucy_walker

Lucy Walker

Lucy Walker is an Emmy-winning British film director who has twice been nominated for an Academy Award and is renowned for creating riveting, character-driven nonfiction that delivers emotionally and narratively. The Hollywood Reporter has called her ”the new Errol Morris” and Variety has praised her unique ability to connect with audiences. Lucy grew up in England and attended Oxford University, where she graduated with top honors in literature, and directed theater and musical theater before winning a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the Graduate Film Program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. There she earned an MFA and directed award-winning short fiction films. While living in New York, she also enjoyed a successful career as a DJ and musician. Lucy's films include feature documentaries The Crash Reel (2013), Waste Land (2010), Countdown to Zero (2010), Blindsight (2006), Devil’s Playground (2002) and short films, notably The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (2011) and The Lion’s Mouth Opens (2014), most of them screened at ZagrebDox, with Waste Land winning the Audience Award. Her films have been shortlisted for five Oscars (nominated for two), nominated for seven Emmys (winning one), an Independent Spirit Award, a DGA Award, a Gotham Award, and have won over one hundred other film awards. For her advertising work she has been recognized with awards including three Cannes Lions, two Clios and two Association of Independent Commercial Producers awards. Lucy is also an acclaimed virtual reality director. Her first VR experience, A History of Cuban Dance (2016), premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and showed at SXSW and the Toronto International Film Festival. She has directed branded VR experiences for AirBnB, Toms Shoes, Vaseline, Vice, and the Buena Vista Social Club.

General sponsor

Blindsight

Great Britain
2006, 104'

Directed by:
Lucy Walker

Cinematography:
Michael Brown, Petr Cikhart, Keith Partridge, Gavin Struthers, Mahyad Tousi, Lucy Walker

Edited by:
Sebastian Duthy

Music:
David Christophere, Nitin Sawhney

Producer:
Sybil Robson Orr

Produced by:
Robson Entertainment

Festivals & Awards:

Berlin International Film Festival 2007 – Audience Award Panorama Publikumspreis for Best Film; AFI Film Festival 2006 – Audience Award for Best Film; Palm Springs International Film Festival 2007 – Audience Award for Best Documentary; Film Fest Gent 2007 – Audience Award for Best Film; British Independent Film Awards 2006 – Best Documentary; BFI London Film Festival 2006; Toronto International Film Festival 2006; SXSW 2007

Contact:

Robson Orr Entertainment
E. lucyneeds@gmail.com