"We didn't want a film about blind people. It's significant enough that we are the ones who created it"
The Tel Aviv Cinematheque screened short films created by participants of the "First Take" workshop—people with total or partial vision loss. The project proves that creativity knows no limitations.
How does a person who has never seen direct a film? How do they decide what appears in the frame, where the camera stands, and what the viewer feels? For most, these are theoretical questions, but for the 11 participants of the "First Take" film workshop, they became reality. On Sunday (July 19), two short feature films created during the workshop were screened at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. For the first time in Israel, films written and directed by people with blindness and visual impairments were presented.
"Building a map in my head"
One participant, Amin Salah from the village of Mashhad, who was born with hereditary blindness, explains that directing for him is about building an internal map of the space. "I think about where each actor stands, what they are wearing, where the focus will be, and what I want the audience to feel," he shares. "When I imagined the film, I heard it in my head even before we filmed." The participants consciously chose not to make a film about disability. "It was clear to us that we didn't want to make a film about blind people; it is significant enough that blind people are the ones who created it," Amin emphasizes.
Both creators and actors
The filmmaking process was intensive: participants not only wrote scripts but also acted in them, overcoming the challenges of multitasking. "Acting was the hardest for me, but today I feel much more confident in my ability to manage projects," says Salah. Director and actress Or Azulay, who accompanied the group, notes that she used creative methods, such as Lego bricks to build 3D frames, to explain abstract concepts like composition or depth. "Composition is not just a matter of vision. It is an understanding of relationships in space," she explains.
Turning from culture consumers into creators
Amir Orani, CEO of the "Center for Accessible Culture," emphasizes that the workshop is part of a broader vision. "Many people think our role is only to make books or films accessible. But we want the visually impaired to be not only consumers of culture but also its creators," he says. The success of the project, supported by the "Dorot" Foundation, has inspired the organizers to build a database of creators with visual impairments for future projects. As Amin Salah notes: "People with disabilities have a special point of view. Don't be afraid to create; the audience is waiting to hear your stories."
