Connecting
Logline
In Mexico City renowned for harshness and chaos where judgments reigns supreme, two blind prison psychotherapists navigate physical, sociological and psychological perils. They weave intricate, empathetic connections between lives inside and beyond the prison walls, playing a tender resilient melody of vulnerable humanity.
Synopsis
“Connecting” features blind protagonists, Erika and Uriel, intimately exploring unique ways of perception, vulnerability and connection. Set amidst the harsh, urban chaos of Mexico City, their exterior worlds presents a sharp dissonance to their vulnerable, resilient inner worlds and relationships. As the film immerses into their dynamic lives and work as psychotherapists in Reclusorio Preventive Varonil Oriente prison in Iztapalapa, they demonstrate connection through intuitive feeling, energy and intention beneath the surface. Amidst a society that judges and labels, they share a struggle with their clients to be seen and felt for who they are.
Erika, 34, is an integrative therapist, playwright, actress, aerial dancer, and braille teacher who lost sight at age 12. Uriel, 28, is a reinsertion therapist, singer, performer, and pole-dancer born with glaucoma, lost left eye at 4 and a father who abandoned him before birth. Erika nurtures relationships with therapy outside prison whiles navigating complexities of a romantic relationship with an inmate-assistant recently transferred to a new facility. Additionally she copes through melancholy with the recent death of service dog, Dowser, and anticipates to receive a new service dog. Uriel despite coming from poverty and facing stereotypes as a homosexual is full of energy and expression, regularly performing live in public spaces or with mariachi bands, other artists and an infamous transsexual artist. Uriel is also amidst recording his first full-length original album and a life decision to remove his right eye.
Uriel maneuvers through a dangerous, chaotic metropolis everyday 2 hours each way by foot, subway, and metro-bus to his work at the prison, guided solely by his walking stick and support from fellow humans. Erika rides on the back of a tandem bicycle pedaled by her father, feeling the wind and tuning into the sounds and vibrations of the city. Inside and outside prison walls, Erika and Uriel foster intimate, joyful relationships with each other and those around them. Full of empathy and non-judgment, each sense their way through each and every precarious moment, demonstrating fearlessness, vulnerability and relentless independence. Together they bring their capacity for connection and awareness to every moment, every situation, and every human with intimacy, depth and a profound sense of connection. This film has wide appeal for global audiences through its expression of universal language in connecting. Human rights and social impact topics delve into stereotypes, disability, trauma, addiction, rehabilitation, and gender stereotypes.
Morin Khuur “The Horsehead Fiddle”
“MORIN KHUUR (The Horsehead Fiddle)” is a story which melds a traditional Mongolian legend with a prevalent climate change issue in a nomadic community. This short film humanizes and expresses how water scarcity, drought and desertification has direct affect upon human relationships. Nomadic herders interconnectivity with animals and nature exposes a vulnerability whereby climate changes are exponentially felt. As these harmonious interrelationships are increasingly disrupted, community and culture itself are under threat. Animal loss, herder livelihood, disintegration of community life and urban migration all factor into this decline of nomadic life and unknown future. Morin Khuur (Horsehead Fiddle) is a traditional Mongolian instrument symbolic of cultural identity and reveals how music unites people. The legend of the Morin Khuur and contemporary issue of climate change juxtaposed together in this film offer a perspective to raise awareness and empower efforts to value and restore what human societies are losing from the past.
BOUNDARIES
“BOUNDARIES” is a short film about borders: geographic, psychological, and spiritual. The film explores these boundaries within self, decoding the refugee crisis by probing questions of trust, prejudice, and fear that invoke the culprit in another, different and unknown. Lead actors are children, from Bosnia and Iran cast in a refugee border camp. The story follows a border policeman’s son and a refugee boy who intersect in the forest over a lost kite. After a skirmish, the kite breaks and children overcome challenges and differences to construct a new kite. Juxtaposed is their parent’s search to find them, which unveils suspicion, buried fear, and surfaces with an unexpected bloody note.
A WHITE HORSE FOR BATAVIA
“A White Horse For Batavia” is an international co-production in development. This is a fictional feature film inspired by the real story of Beno Sternlicht. The film is set at beginning of WWII and follows Beno, as an eleven year old boy and follows his adventures over three years as a child refugee. Themes include displacement, interconnectivity, tolerance and human behavior.
The film opens just before the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland when Beno is eleven and separated from his mother who works at a hospital in Warsaw. During Beno’s voyage home to Nowy-Sacz, the Polish army conscripts his father. We follow Beno in hiding and his search for his father Hugo. A missing person sign on a tree in Romania leads to their reunion. Together, they embark on adventures to Siberia, Turkey, Palestine and eventually India where they settle and build a new life. Along their voyages, strokes of luck and misfortune test their abilities to survive and question the world around them. As father and son journey from Europe via the Middle East to Asia the transformation of people, cultures and environments create a cinematic tour-de-force.
ABOUT EYESPOT FILMS
Eyespot Films is an independent film, TV and online content company founded by Joshua Sternlicht. We focus on stories that intersect the boundaries between documentary and fiction. Our mission is to create personal, relevant, cinematic and engaging stories. Our projects encourage a discourse between commerce, content, and art.
Formed in 2004 and based in New York and Berlin, the organization aims to produce impactful stories exploring contemporary socio-environmental topics. We are a full service production company with a network of specializations that offer customized products specified to a wide scope of client needs. We work alongside filmmakers, brands, networks, agencies, educators, schools,
and designers to produce work that promotes balance.
