New Orleans Film Festival 2009

The Eyes of Me presents an extraordinary look at four blind teenagers. Shot at the Texas School for the Blind in Austin, the parallel stories of two freshmen and two seniors unfold over the course of one dynamic year. Isaac has been blind less than a year. When his retina detached, his uninsured grandparents could not afford emergency eye surgery. Now the freshman must leave his rural home in Paris, Texas to adjust to a new city, a new school … a new life. At her old school, Denise’s classmates made fun of her cane and called her names. The shy 15-year-old isolated herself and struggled with bouts of depression. At the school for the blind, she’s living away from her family for the first time. This is Denise’s chance to break out of her shell. Meagan focuses on her future. As graduation approaches, she prepares for community college in the fall. Is this valedictorian ready to leave the nurturing environment of the blind school to prove herself in the sighted world? Chas bristles for greater independence. At 17, he leaves the school’s dorms to get his own apartment. When Chas drops out halfway through his senior year, his resolve to chart his own path is tested. Forced to confront the world without sight, they share their thoughts, their perceptions, their inner-visions of the outer world. Ultimately, you cannot understand their perceptions without challenging your own. How do you see yourself when you can't see at all?