The Eyes of Me: Where are They Now?

Last night, Independent Lens aired the documentary The Eyes of Me, which follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted. Interested in knowing what happened to some of the students since the film was completed? Learn more and read their updates below:

Chas

CHAS -
Chas and his girlfriend Ashley had a baby boy, Chas Jr., in December of 2008. Chas Jr. was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, the same cancer of the retina that his mother Ashley had as a child. Chas Jr. spent much of 2009 undergoing chemotherapy and doctors are hopeful that he will be cancer-free and that they were able to save some of his sight. Chas Sr. continues to struggle from month to month with bills and the rigors of being an independent young adult and family man. He has worked off and on at the Lighthouse for the Blind and the only real constant for him has been his music. One2Cee plans to release some new music in conjunction with the release of The Eyes Of Me. Chas has yet to complete his GED.

Denise

DENISE -
During her sophomore year, Denise’s mother decided to bring her back to Dallas to attend her zoned high school. This arrangement didn’t work out too well for Denise and she ended up leaving that school as well. Denise lives with her mother and little sister – she still sings in her church choir and is taking some life skills classes and is looking for the right job training program.

› Continue reading

Tags: blind, students, visually impaired

The Eyes of Me Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS

“The Eyes of Me has the wisdom to illuminate a narrow, human scope on the issue of disability and blindness by focusing on intimate moments in the teens’ lives.”
- Philadelphia City Paper

How do you see yourself, when you can’t see at all? At the Texas School for the Blind students juggle all the usual pressures of high school along with the added struggles of growing up blind. Spend a dynamic year with four blind teens learning how to fit in and live independently. Forced to confront the world without sight, they share their inner visions of the outer world. Ultimately, you cannot understand their perceptions without challenging your own.

Check out a preview of tonight’s broadcast below:

The Eyes of Me premieres tonight, March 2, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: blind, PBS, students, Texas, visually impaired

The Eyes Of Me Finishes Community Cinema Run and Airs Tomorrow

Community Cinema held 47 free events for Keith Maitland’s documentary The Eyes Of Me, which follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted. The film will have its television premiere tomorrow, March 2, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). Learn more about the local impact of Community Cinema below.

Busboys and Poets owner Andy Shallal holds up both the Braille and printed versions of the restaurant menus.

Community Cinema DC and Busboys and Poets decided The Eyes of Me event would be the perfect time to introduce braille menus. Busboys and Poets is a restaurant/performance space located in the historic U Street corridor of Washington, DC and named for the famous Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes’ who was discovered in the capital city while working as a busboy at a hotel.

Owner Andy Shallal said he attended The Eyes of Me event to get a better understanding of the perspectives of blind and visually impaired persons in social interactions.

Busboys and Poets has been hosting Community Cinema in the Langston Room for nearly five seasons. The introduction of Braille menus is yet another effort to bring more communities to Busboys and Poets and our Community Cinema events.

Read more about these screenings on the Community Cinema blog >>

Tags: blind, film screenings, Texas, visually impaired

Community Cinema Screens The Eyes of Me in Philadelphia

Last night, Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film The Eyes of Me at the Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, Pa. The film follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted. Regional Outreach Coordinator Cindy Burstein gives an overview of what happened and discusses the local impact.

The panel –– organized to represent an intergenerational view on being blind –– shared personal experiences as compared to those in the film.

The lobby of the Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia was bustling with activity, as volunteers gathered for the Community Cinema screening of
The Eyes of Me.

Fran Fulton, a staff person with Liberty Resources, Inc. (a partner in presenting the event) was busy training a Villanova University sorority on how to serve as sighted guides. Fulton, who is blind, reminded the volunteers that some of the most basic things that sighted people take for granted are important to remember when assisting blind people, such as telling them which direction the seat is facing, and placing the hand of the blind person on the seat in front of them as a way to guide them into an available chair, which may be four or five seats down the row.

Audio describers from Amaryllis Theatre Company were setting up equipment for live audio description, and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters from the Deaf-Hearing Communication Center were getting acquainted with the space and ready to provide sign language interpretation for the panel discussion taking place after the film.

› Continue reading

Tags: blind, PBS, Philadelphia, students, Texas, visually impaired

Video Extra: The Eyes of Me on Independent Lens

This is the companion piece to The Eyes of Me, which airs Tuesday, March 2, on Independent Lens on PBS. The film follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted.

In this video extra, a new student at the school, Denise, explores a brand new store in the neighborhood and learns to navigate on her own, with the help of a coach.

The Eyes of Me airs next Tuesday, March 2, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Learn more about The Eyes of Me >>

Tags: blind, PBS, students, Texas, visually impaired

Community Cinema Screens The Eyes of Me in Houston

Last night, Community Cinema hosted a screening of the Independent Lens film The Eyes of Me at HoustonPBS. The film follows four visually impaired teenagers in Texas as they face the usual challenges of adolescence while simultaneously learning to navigate a world designed for the sighted. Filmmaker Keith Maitland attended the screening and gives an overview of what happened and the impact the event below.

Patrick Floyd (left), the producer of The Eyes of Me, and Keith Maitland (right), the director, at the HoustonPBS Community Cinema Screening of their film.

Bernice Klepac, with the Houston Council for the Blind, talks about her experience as a student at Texas School for the Blind back in the 1950s.

With more than 125 audience members in attendance –– many of them blind or visually-impaired –– HoustonPBS hosted a wonderful Community Cinema screening of The Eyes of Me. It’s always exciting for me to be able to sit in a crowded theater and share the film with a new audience but there was something very special about this particular screening. Along with producer Patrick Floyd, I was happy to travel to Houston from Austin, Texas, to experience Community Cinema firsthand. Meagan McComic (one of the main characters from the film) and Bill Daugherty, superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI), joined Patrick and I on the panel after the film, to share their reflections and perspectives with the Houston community –– many of whom had ties to TTSBVI directly.

Two of the audience members were alumni of TSBVI –– Michael Garrett, class of ’69, and Bernice Klepak, class of ’55. It was exciting to hear Michael and Bernice’s response to the film, and the contrasts between their days at the school and the stories of Chas, Meagan, Denise, and Isaac represented in the film. Bernice was impressed with how honest and natural today’s students were compared to her days when she feels that they were all “pretty straight-laced.”

› Continue reading

Tags: blind, disability, disability rights, Texas, visually impaired