Imagine climbing the highest peaks on Earth. Now imagine doing it blind.
Such was the case for Erik Weihenmayer, when, on May 25, 2001, he became the only blind man in history to reach the summit of the world's highest peak- Mount Everest. And on September 5, 2002, when he stood on top of Mt. Kosciusko in Australia, Weihenmayer completed his seven-year quest to climb the Seven Summits- the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, joining only 100 mountaineers who have accomplished that feat.
Shortly after summiting Everest, Weihenmayer received a letter from blind educator, Sabriye Tenberken, who founded Braille without Borders, the first and only school for the blind in Tibet. After exclaiming, “If you could climb to the top of the world, we also can overcome our borders and show to the world that the blind can equally participate in society and are able to accomplish great things,” Tenberken invited Weihenmayer to come to Tibet, meet her students, and possible lead them in a climbing clinic.
Upon reading the letter, Weihenmayer thought, “Maybe the kids could do their own expedition. If these kids can climb their own Everest, God, what a statement that will make throughout the world.” He assembled members of his Everest climbing team to discuss various climbing possibilities and the idea for the climb (and the film) was born.
“Erik told me climbing mountains gave him confidence as a blind teenager and he wanted to share that experience with these blind Tibetan kids. He asked me if I thought taking six blind Tibetan teenagers up a 23,000 foot mountain in the Himalayas sounded like a movie. I told him it did and decided to make it,” said producer Sybil Robson-Orr.
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Himalayas, Blindsight follows the gripping adventure of six Tibetan teenagers who set out to climb the 23,000 foot Lhakpa Ri on the north side of Mount Everest. Believed by many Tibetans to be possessed by demons, the children are shunned by their parents, scorned by their villages and rejected by society. Erik arrives in Lhasa and inspires Sabriye and her students Kyila, Sonam Bhumtso, Tashi, Gyenshen, Dachung, and Tenzin to let him lead them higher than they have ever been before. The resulting three-week journey is beyond anything any of them could have predicted.
Blindsight premiered at the Toronto and London Film Festivals to uproarious standing ovations. Then, at the two biggest film festivals in the world, Los Angeles and Berlin, it was honored with the "audience award." It was also short listed for an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
The film has also been praised by critics around the world. Desson Thomson, Washington Post film critic, wrote, “Blindsight makes us consider an apparent paradox that, for the blind, is the philosophical starting point of their day: how to see things the human eye won't register.” Jeanette Catsoulis of the New York Times stated, “Blindsight is one of those documentaries with the power to make you re-examine your entire life.”
Erik Weihenmayer’s reason for pursuing the film was as profound as it was enlightening. “When you suffer together, that’s when you make the closest connection to the people around you,” he said. After reaching the highest summits in the world, empowering others to learn from his example, find strength in his adversities and follow in his footsteps is arguably a more admirable quest that will help build a better society.
Sybil Robson-Orr concluded, “My hope is that Sabriye, Erik and the kids inspire our audience to push through their personal boundaries and reach for their dreams. Through them, we can see that anything in life, whether we are physically challenged or not, is possible if we build the right team around us. They don’t want to be seen as blind people who do great things, but rather ambassadors for everyone who believes in climbing higher.”
