Award winning film director premieres Going Blind in Berlin

GOING BLIND is a  new documentary by New York based Peabody Award-winning director and vision advocate Joseph Lovett. Joseph Lovett has lost considerable vision from glaucoma. and he has decided to  premiere  his film at WOC®2010 .

Filmmaker Joe Lovett and producer Logan Schmid will be present at the screening, which is being held at 4pm  on Tuesday, June 8 in the Stockholm Room.

GOING BLIND 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.

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).

“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,“ said 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.

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