How does a blind person cross the road? Think about it…
It may not sound nice but when we first started making the
Sea of Change film we quickly realised something very shocking and fascinating.
A sighted person doesn’t have an issue crossing, in fact they don’t often think
twice about it and take roads for granted but crossing the road can literally mean
the difference between life and death for a blind person. The aim of this film is
to give a voice to the blind people and let their issues and emotions’ be seen
as well as heard, by those who can make a difference.
So far we’ve toured all over Britain to film the Sea of
Change (and still have lots more cities to visit), pushed boundaries and
achieved good success but most of all we’ve pushed the boundaries and given
blind people the chance to be heard; in an extraordinary and impactful
documentary film!
In a nutshell, here’s how the Sea of Change film and
campaign came about. In 2012 a roundabout in Leek got taken out by the
Staffordshire County council to fit in a new supermarket. This may not sound like a big issue but for the people in the town it was
a massive issue because the roundabout was at the heart of them and their town.
More importantly it was vital to regulate the busy traffic in the town. The
protests went on for 17 months and when the town’s folk set up camp on the
roundabout, they finally got media interest and the campaign was addressed in
the news and shown on a live webcam in over 42 countries. As we were filming
this, we quickly realised the negative consequences this had on the citizens;
especially blind people. The production and marketing sparked the national campaign and film, Sea of Change, for better roads for
blind and disabled people. It wasn’t the fact that the roundabout had been
taken out, it was citizen’s passion and anger combined with the rising number
of incidents that provided us with a great introduction to this story, encouraged
people to give their impressive support and got national media interest.
Just Google ‘Leek Roundabout’ and you’ll get an idea of just
how big this was and still is. As the production crew, we quickly understood that
this was happening nationally and more shared space was being put in. Shared
space is where there are no formal crossings, safety measures or road signs in
an area and the cars and citizens travel amongst each other. The idea is that
the driver becomes more aware of what’s around them and therefore slows down;
reducing the chances of an incident. Like I’ve said in some areas this is great
but in others it isn’t, either way shared space and poor road safety often
leads to blind people being injured on the road and not leaving their house because
of fear. We’ve seen this. In case you’re wondering blind dogs are trained to
stop at curbs because it’s safer.
Through out the filming of the Sea of Change we’ve; started
a national campaign, pushed the boundaries of society, challenged the
Government, gained incredible support, raised awareness of key issues ad met
inspirational people who have made a difference to roads in the past. These
people include: Jill Allen King Obe (the lady who was key in the tactile paving
idea), people from the National Blind People’s Association and not to mention
some visually impaired people too.
We’ve also been given permission to show the Sea of Change
at the UN Day in the House of Lords on the 3rd December 2013! Amazing
achievements right? This blog will show
the progress throughout the Sea of Change production. Join us on our incredible
journey and together we can make a positive change.
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