Black Sun (dir. Gary Tarn)

This is a film narrated by the French artist Hugues de Montalembert. He tells his moving and uplifting story from the starting point of the night he lost his sight completely after a random attacker threw paint thinner in his eyes. He talks about the changes to his perceptions and how visual his mind still is. This inflicted disability has not stopped his creativity, nor has he lost his independent spirit. He travels the world alone and while in Bali writes a book. The director Gary Tarn uses 16mm footage, mainly of street life in New York and some of the places Hughes travelled to. He also composed the music so the whole film feels very intimate and tender. It reminded me of Chris Marker's Sans Soleil in terms of how the visual and narrative work together but I found Hughes narration, unlike the fictional character in Sans Soleil, added strong sense of personal humility which adds to the beauty of the film.