ILLUMINATION.jpg
Gordon Gund's efforts to find a cure for blindness are the subject of the short documentary film "The Illumination."
(The Nantucket Project)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The story of how former Cleveland Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund, who is blind, helped a blind Belgian boy regain his sight is told in the short documentary "The Illumination." The film makes its world premiere at the Cleveland International Film Festival on Thursday, April 6, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Gund's efforts to find a cure for the eye disease that caused his blindness enabled Yannick Duwe, then 8 years old, to became the first child to regain sight using gene therapy in a clinical trial conducted in 2008, according to a press release from The Nantucket Project, a nonprofit based in Nantucket, Massachusetts, that co-produced "The Illumination."
"The Illumination" screens as part of Shorts Program 13 at 5:35 p.m. Thursday, April 6, at Tower City Cinemas. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Gund; his wife, Lulie; and "The Illumination" director Tom Scott.
The short documentary film also screens as part of the Ohio Shorts Program 3 at 9:35 p.m. Thursday, April 6, and again with Shorts Program 13 at 11:45 a.m. Friday, April 7, at Tower City Cinemas. Click here for ticket information.
Gund, 77, was born in Cleveland and now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. His Foundation Fighting Blindness, a nonprofit for retinal disease research, partnered with The Nantucket Project to produce the 19-minute film. The co-director and co-producer is Tom Scott (HBO, "The Neistat Brothers"), and the co-director/writer is Daniel Honan.
In this Q&A, Gund talks about why he wanted to be a part of this film, and why he's excited about its debut at CIFF:
Q. How did you lose your sight?
A. In 1970, after several years of progressive vision loss, I went blind from an inherited retinal degenerative disease known as retinitis pigmentosa. This disease is one of a family of diseases that, all together, cause severe vision loss and blindness for more than 10 million people in the United States and many times that number worldwide.
Q. Why did you start the Foundation Fighting Blindness?
A. After my sight was gone, my wife, Lulie, and I devoted our lives to helping to drive the research to find treatments and cures for people diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa and other eye diseases. In 1971, we joined with others to start the Foundation Fighting Blindness (a national, nonprofit organization), which now is the leading private funder of retinal disease research in the world. Its research is achieving amazing results, restoring sight for some already. With even more funding and effort from passionate, dedicated people, we are on the verge of eradicating these diseases.
Q. Why did you want to participate in "The Illumination"?
A. We were willing to do this film in order to give more exposure to the great work the foundation is doing, and to give hope and help to people dealing with severe visual impairment, or other physical challenges, and their families.
Q. Who spearheaded the project?
A. This film has been spearheaded by its director, Tom Scott, co-founder of The Nantucket Project, and his entire wonderful team. They are exceptionally creative, imaginative and good at what they do.
Q. Are there plans to expand "The Illumination" into a feature-length film?
A. Hope springs eternal. We greatly hope that this short documentary will help stimulate an interest in doing a feature film so that more exposure will be given to the work of the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
Q. Why did you feel it was important for the film to play at CIFF?
A. As a native Clevelander, I am extremely proud of the Cleveland film festival, which is exceptional and one of the very best there is. It is a great honor to have this film be a part of it.