Imagine

Andrzej Jakimowski : 2012

Arriving in a prestigious clinic for the visually impaired in Lisbon, Ian, a new instructor, starts to teach spatial orientation to his international group of young blind patients. For him, the key to getting around and living a fulfilling life are the mind and the imagination, and not sensory perception. Whilst he is fully alert to the sounds and smells around him at all times, he also "imagines" the landscape through which he walks. This allows him to navigate his way around solid objects and to locate things. Self-confident and charismatic, Ian attempts to transfer his skill of walking without a cane to other patients and in particular Eva. Away from the cloistered institute, as they venture into the chaos and clamour of the streets of Lisbon, Ian reveals his ability to see more with his imagination than most people can see with their eyes. However, his unusual teaching methods, although successful, are not only challenging, but also dangerous. Captivating and mesmerising, the film captures in the most extraordinary manner its characters' experience and the very sense of what it feels like to walk unassisted. Winner of the prize for Best Director at Warsaw Film Festival 2012.