The realm of entertainment stands on the precipice of change. It is a time when artists within the industry are coming together to advocate for the independent voice. It is a time when audiences understand more and more how to support the artistry of film production. It is a time of reflection where Ben Fox, founder and President of the blindCAN Film Festival, feels accepted to return to the industry as he plans fall events.
The art of Filmmaking
Fox lives and breathes filmmaking. It’s “the sculpting of the moments with the camera… finding the stories.” Since growing up in Utah, Fox and his family attended the Sundance Film Festival to watch the lines of people, the previews, and the power of film.
One can see the memories roll as Fox tries to answer the age-old question of any cinephile: “What’s your favorite film?” With a long whistle that reverberates off the studio walls, Fox sighs. “I’ll have to go back to the movie that inspired me to become a filmmaker, “Great Expectations (1998).” Fox pauses, then laughs, “By the way, I read the book.”
He continues describing how it felt like he was watching an authentic, engaging art piece for the first time. Fox’s pivotal description of the film encapsulates why the movie has stood the test of time. “Fate, in so many ways, intertwines with this young man’s life and takes him on a journey… and I wondered to myself: could he have made different choices?” It is an existential thought that bounces across everyone’s mind wondering if their choices could have been different.
Fox continues describing his life choices and how the love of his favorite film led him to pick up his school’s old Video Home System (VHS) recorder.
At 18, he filmed 30-second perspectives from people on what God meant to them, with 30-second pauses in between. “I didn’t mean for it to be arty,” Fox describes. “But all of a sudden, Sundance Film Festival put out a call (and) LOVED it; they thought it was super arty.” He laughs, and one can’t help but bask in the glow that shines on Fox’s face.
His description of filmmaking, respect for Sundance, and joy remembering the red-carpet gala would leave anyone with a newfound admiration for cinema. The experience was “legendary.”
Disability and arts go hand in hand
Yet a few weeks later, fate intervened. “The retinas started falling off both my eyes,” Fox says when doctors informed him to prepare for blindness. After several surgeries, Fox spent five weeks on his side to avoid tearing the stitches.
“I watched every movie that anybody had on VHS… every single movie, to keep my mind (going),” Fox said. He says he’ll always hold that part of his life as pivotal, recalling the stack of VHS tapes and the people visiting him. It cemented his calling to be a filmmaker, phoning set after set as a backseat director on “every B-movie that somebody brought me.”
Fox discusses how the current trends in filmmaking toward acceptance leave him feeling. “I (get) emotional about it… for so many years, I was too embarrassed – and that’s a ‘me’ thing – but now I’m back, and I’m grateful for it.”
Looking back on his life and choices, Fox wanted to empower other visually impaired people to share their stories through film. Ultimately, it led him to found blindCAN, an organization of professionals in the blindness community that provides film industry training to those who are blind and visually impaired.
“Disability and arts go hand in hand… [because both] when you actually take a minute and experience them, they make you stop.”
Fox certainly stopped people this past April with blindCAN’s annual film festival, which focuses on films made by people who are blind and with other disabilities. “One of my personal missions in the blindness community is (showing) you can make a film if you have a story, 5 minutes, and a cell phone with a camera. And that applies to everybody, no matter how your eyes work.”
A season of events on the horizon
This fall, blindCAN has several incredible opportunities on the horizon. On Oct. 15, White Cane Awareness Day, the organization plans for the Red Carpet White Cane Celebration. Fox’s goal is to have influential locals attend and promote awareness.
The event will include an option for audience members to receive blind simulator glasses, walk arm in arm with a person with a white cane, and enter on the red velvet carpet together. Fox also will host a Game Night on the next First Friday in the blindCAN studio as a sensory-friendly experience. “It’s the VIP Room… and who doesn’t love karaoke?”
Lastly, Fox plans to co-host an introductory video workshop series this September focusing on storytelling, framework, and all the “small details” in a video. He expands on small details, including lights or sound, and how they can negatively affect the impact of a film’s story. “There’s a small fridge buzzing, an air-conditioner running, your camera captures (that sound)… it takes you out of the moment…Little choices make huge differences.”
Events start with Breakfast by the BLIND from 8-11 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 17. With the variety of programming blindCAN offers, the people of Tallahassee certainly have a fantastic lineup of choices.
If you go
What: blindCAN Fall Programming
When: Aug. 17 – Oct. 15
Where: 630-10 Railroad Square, Tallahassee, FL, 32310
Cost: Event prices vary | Free – $100
Tickets: www.blindcan.org/tickets
Contact: Ben Fox | fox.ben1@gmail.com
Samantha Sumler is the Marketing & Communications Manager for the Council on Culture & Arts. COCA is the capital area’s umbrella agency for arts and culture (tallahasseearts.org).
