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Blindsight

“Sabriye Tenberken runs a school for blind children in Lhasa, Tibet. In 2001, [she] wrote to visually impaired mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to climb Mt Everest, inviting him to visit her school. In 2004, he arrives with an entourage of helpers, determined to get six of Tenberken’s pupils—Sonam Bhumtso, Gyenshen, Dachung, Kyila, Tenzin, and Tashi Pasang—to the top of Mt Everest’s 23,000-foot neighbour, Lhakpa Ri. As the party climbs higher and struggles with altitude sickness, the weather and yak problems, deep-seated differences of attitude start to emerge. For Tenberken and [her partner] Kronenberg, and to a certain extent the Tibetans themselves, it’s the journey that matters, not gaining the top. But for Weihenmayer and his competitive-minded cohorts, anything less than total commitment spells failure. The clash between them evokes larger oppositions, between Europeans vs Americans, educationalists vs sportsmen, and so on, with the kids caught in the middle.” – Leslie Felperin, Variety

 

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UK 2006

Director: Lucy Walker
Producer: Sybil Robson
Production co: Robson Entertainment
Photography: Michael Brown, Petr Cikhart, Keith Partridge, Gavin Struthers, Mahyad Tousi, Lucy Walker
Editor: Sebastian Duthy
Music: David Christophere, Nitin Sawhney

104 mins, DV (16:9)

PG cert

Tekapo Film Society
Wednesday 28 March

Waitati Film Society
Tuesday 2 October, 8.00pm

Hamilton Film Society
Monday 15 October, 8.00pm