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Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, an organization providing hope, confidence, and independence to its program participants of all ages through education, training, research, and vision enhancement, is excited to announce that several of their Transition students are featured in an independent documentary – ‘Stories from the Lighthouse’ – produced by Simon + Film and directed by three time Academy Award nominee, Deborah Dickson.
Debuting at Miami Dade College’s 41st Miami Film Festival on April 11, the documentary follows three young people who are headed into adulthood and will have to navigate new challenges facing the blind and visually impaired community with grit and humor. ‘Stories from the Lighthouse’ highlights Luhanna who is teaching herself how to break through her shy demeanor and advocate for her independence, Emily who is eager to begin her college career and Joey who is moving away from home to a new city alone to pursue graduate school.
In the film, Emily explains “The world that we live in hasn’t been designed for people with disabilities and it doesn’t adapt to us, so we need to adapt to it.” She also talks about the meaningful friendships she’s built at Miami Lighthouse over the years, sharing “We’re very close and we have this understanding of each other not because we’re blind, but because we go through the same challenges.”
The Miami Lighthouse creates exposure for their program participants to other blind and visually impaired people to feel a sense of community that they may not find elsewhere. Luhanna mentions that “We’re just like sighted people but we have a way of doing things differently.”
“Stories from the Lighthouse” is also nominated for a Documentary Achievement Award which is a prize given to the director of the jury-selected best feature-length (60 min or longer) documentary filmmakers.
“We’re ecstatic to demonstrate to our city and the film industry all that Miami Lighthouse offers to our program participants and how we help set them up for success starting from toddlers to adulthood,” said Virginia Jacko, President and CEO of Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. “Thank you to Deborah Dickson for shining a light on how it’s possible to see without sight!”
‘Stories From the Lighthouse’ will be screened at Regal South Beach on Thursday, April 11th at 7:30 p.m. To purchase a ticket and watch the trailer, click here: Stories from the Lighthouse.
About Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
For nearly a century, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired has been working to build a more inclusive society for the blind and visually impaired. Through education, training, research and vision enhancement, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind provides hope, confidence, and independence to people of all ages. Miami Lighthouse serves over 25,000 blind and visually impaired program participants of all ages, from blind babies to seniors, each year. For more information, please visit www.miamilighthouse.org/.
