The Blind Sea: red carpet premiere for Campbelltown

Daniel Fenech, who wrote, directed and edited the feature length documentary The Blind Sea, will be taking to the stage at Event Cinemas Macarthur Square on August 16 for a Q&A with the audience.

The film, which was a finalist at the recent Sydney Film Festival, will begin screening nationally on August 15.

But with Campbelltown being Fenech’s home town and where he started his film production company Brick Studios, it will be a red carpet, black tie affair on Friday, August 16.

Starring blind surfer Matt Formston, The Blind Sea combines intimate portrait with epic action to produce a film that has to be heard every bit as much as seen.

At the age of five Formston was diagnosed with Macular Dystrophy, a rare eye condition that left him two life-changing things: three percent vision, and a desire ever since to do what everyone else says can’t be done.

An avid surfer since his childhood growing up on the beaches and oceans of Narrabeen, from paracycling glory through to his role at the heart of Optus’s diversity, inclusion and sustainability team, Matt’s passion for surfing has been ever-present.

So, when the opportunity arises as part of shooting for The Blind Sea to go head-to-head with the world’s biggest and most dangerous waves at Portugal’s infamous Nazaré, family fears, super storms, injuries, and a lifetime of doubters won’t stand in the way of Matt’s relentless determination to break through life’s latest obstacle.

But faced with a mountain of raging water that cares not for pride and glory, where will Matt’s desire to prove people wrong carry him?

You will have to watch the film to find out, but Formston says this about his decision to take on Nazaré and the film:

“To the people who have a disability, I want to show them some of the processes I use to find a way through life’s obstacles.

“And to the people who don’t have a disability, I want to show them that having a disability doesn’t mean accepting a lifetime of limitations.

“If I’ve been able to do the things I have with a disability, then maybe we’re all capable of more than other people would like us to believe.”

To book tickets to the Blind Sea screening and Q&A at Event Campbelltown, visit www.eventcinemas.com.au/Movie/The-Blind-Sea