NEWS



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GOING BLIND’ PREMEIRES ON OCTOBER 8

Joe Lovett's Highly Anticipated Documentary Brings Worldwide Awareness
 to Vision Loss and Low Vision Therapy Issues

Film Commemorates World Sight Day, October 14, 2010
 And Serves as International 'Call to Action'

NEW YORK, New York, August 18, 2010 – Ever wanted to ask a blind person with a cane or dog just how they were able to navigate a busy city? Well, you can get the answer to that question and many more in GOING BLIND, a unique film which takes us into the secret world of the blind through personal stories. The film, directed by award-winning director Joseph Lovett will start its theatrical run October 8, at NY’s Quad Cinema and run through World Sight Day, October 14, 2010. 

Lovett conceived the film when he realized he was losing his sight to recurrent glaucoma. The situation seemed quite dire and he turned to others dealing with the same issues and realized there was a compelling universal story here.

“A huge percentage of visually impaired people sit alone in their rooms afraid to venture out,” commented Lovett. “This is a true crime and much of this happens simply because their doctors did not take the next step and suggest other avenues of treatment such as low vision therapy. It is not the doctor’s failure if a patient loses vision…. not referring patients to Low Vision Therapy is the real failure,” he concluded.

Patiently shooting and editing for five years, Lovett follows the compelling progress of people such as Steve Baskis, an Iraq war veteran who lost his sight to a road-side bomb attack and Jessica Jones, an art teacher with Diabetic Retinopathy. The filmmaker weaves their stories with his own, and learns how low vision therapy and new technologies can create a roadmap of hope while battling blindness. 

Although GOING BLIND is a story about coping with vision loss, it is really a story about coping with any adversity life deals you. As Jessica Jones says in the film “You learn how to use what you have.”

Going Blind’s personal reporting style is based on Lovett’s “Cancer: Evolution to Revolution,” the Peabody award-winning film he produced and directed that began HBO’s health outreach initiative.

Major supporters of GOING BLIND include: The National Eye Institute (USA), Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation, Pfizer Ophthalmics, The Allergan Foundation, Allene Reuss Memorial Trust, and The Gibney Family Foundation.

Lovett is a veteran news journalist and producer, concentrating on health and social issues. He broke AIDS as an investigative story at ABC News’ 20/20 where he worked for ten years. Additional credits include “Fat Like Me,” a report on childhood obesity for ABC, “Coming Home” for the Hallmark Channel, “State of Denial” about AIDS in South Africa for PBS, “Three Sisters: Searching for a Cure” focusing on a family dealing with ALS for HBO and “Cancer: Evolution to Revolution” for HBO. The Emmy-nominated filmmaker has been honored with The Peabody Award, The Christopher Award and numerous awards from cancer advocacy organizations. Lovett produced the first in-depth AIDS investigation for national television and his continuing work against AIDS won him the AIDS Action Foundation AIDS Leadership Award.

GOING BLIND is part of a major outreach effort to raise awareness through several platforms, including the development of an online education tool kit, sponsored panels hosted by prominent vision leaders, and much more. The toolkit and more information can be found at www.goingblindmovie.com

GOING BLIND is written and directed by Joseph Lovett and produced by Lovett and Hilary Klotz Steinman. The editors are Jason Szabo and Jamie Hogan with Logan Schmid as the associate producer. Principal Photography was completed by Matthew Akers.

Press Contact
MURPHY PR
John Murphy
212.414.0408
jmurphy@murphypr.com




GOING BLIND’ TO ENJOY WORLD PREMIERE AT 2010 WORLD OPHTHALMOLOGY CONGRESS IN BERLIN

Highly Anticipated Documentary Brings Worldwide Awareness
 to Vision Loss and Low Vision Therapy Issues

Film Serves as International ‘Call to Action’ Timed to
 World Sight Day on October 14

NEW YORK, New York, June 2, 2010 -- GOING BLIND, a new documentary by New York based Peabody Award-winning director and vision advocate Joseph Lovett, will have its World Premiere at the prestigious 2010 World Ophthalmology Congress in Berlin, Germany. 

The film is paving the way for an international national grass roots campaign aimed at preventing blindness by treating eye diseases effectively, educating the general public on how to learn to adapt to various forms of vision loss and illustrating the effectiveness of low vision therapy. The World Ophthalmology Congress is the longest continuous international medical meeting, which consists of the top speakers and experts in the field of eye-care.

“GOING BLIND is an essential first step in taking action to preserve the gift of sight and address one of the prevailing health issues affecting millions of people worldwide,“ commented Lovett. “We are pleased by all of the interest the film has received thus far, particularly by our inclusion in The World Ophthalmology Congress,” he added.

The World Premiere in Berlin will be followed later this month by an exclusive screening at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Vision Rehabilitation Center in Boston, Massachusetts, with leading eye-care professionals. GOING BLIND will then platform into additional local communities across the United States with the support of various vision advocacy leaders and organizations, culminating in the celebration of World Sight Day on October 14. 

GOING BLIND draws attention to the importance of sight loss and low vision therapy issues by seeking to raise awareness through several platforms, including the development of an online education tool kit, sponsored panels hosted by prominent vision leaders, and much more.

Major supporters of the film to date include: The National Eye Institute (USA), Readers Digest Partners for Sight Foundation, Pfizer Ophthalmics, The Allergan Foundation, Allene Reuss Memorial Trust, and The Gibney Family Foundation.

Filmmaker Joe Lovett and producer Logan Schmid will be present at the World Ophthalmology Congress screening, which is being held at 16:00 on Tuesday, June 8 in the Stockholm Room.

For more information or interviews, please visit: www.goingblindmovie.com

About GOING BLIND
GOING BLIND is a film by Peabody Award-winning director Joseph Lovett who has lost considerable vision from Glaucoma.  The film follows Joe through five years of struggle to save his remaining vision.  During that time he seeks out people who have already lost their vision from diseases like art teacher Jessica Jones (Diabetic Retinopathy), architect Peter D’Elia (Age-related Macular Degeneration), Seeing Eye Outreach Coordinator Ray Kornman (Retinitis Pigmentosa), Veterans Administration worker Patricia Williams (Glaucoma and Traumatic Injury), 11 year old Emmet Teran (Strabismus) and Iraq War Veteran Steve Baskis (Road-side bomb attack).
 

Press Contact
MURPHY PR
Heter Myers
212.414.0408
hmyers@murphypr.com