Most people dream of a better future, and Pedro — an aspiring social worker — is no different. However, as a blind, undocumented immigrant he faces obstacles to get his college degree, secure a job and support his family.
The documentary unseen follows Pedro's story as he faces constant uncertainty while working towards his dreams, and his mission of helping others in his community ultimately leads to his own healing. Through experimental cinematography and sound, the documentary reimagines accessibility in cinema while exploring the intersections of immigration, disability and mental health.
"For the most part, I was making the film because I wanted Pedro to be able to enjoy the film, not in a lesser way than anybody that's sighted, for example, but because the story is about Pedro. I wanted Pedro to feel like this film is about him," says unseen director and producer Set Hernandez. "Because film is often perceived as a primarily visual medium, how can we subvert that and invite people to watch a film by listening — which is often how Pedro experiences film, through audio description."
This intention is powerfully conveyed right from the film's opening that features blurred visuals that never quite get into focus. This style of filming is used for the whole documentary, and was done by putting gaffers tape with a small hole over the aperture of a lensless camera so that it captures shapes, lights and silhouettes.
Hernandez notes that this filming technique was not done to simulate blindness, but rather a desire to imagine what equitable enjoyment of cinema would be like.
"Blind viewers and sighted viewers, even though they'll never experience films the same way, there's an intention that one wouldn't enjoy the film more than the other audience," he explains. "And I think it's a dynamic that we're continuing to explore in our film and in cinema."
Hernandez first met Pedro in 2015 while working to help coordinate a program for young undocumented adults. At that time as he explains, there were very few opportunities for undocumented young professionals to use their skill sets in a way that was consistent with their education and training background.
Hernandez says, "What I noticed that was very unique about Pedro that morning that I met him is that he had a dog. And I realized that Pedro's dog was his guide dog, Tyler. And I think at that moment, I recognized that we don't often talk about disabled undocumented immigrants within our movements." This realization was the catalyst that led to filming Pedro for years, and eventually producing the documentary.
He continues, "I wanted to make sure that Pedro is actually represented in the way that he understands himself, because often, I think portrayals of immigration and disability in the media —particularly blindness— is through the lens of non-disabled filmmakers, non-immigrant filmmakers." As Hernandez continued on with the project that was initially intended to be of a smaller scale, it quickly grew into a larger operation. So, the contributions made by the producers and other parters were welcomed components.
The final project's reception has been very rewarding for both Hernandez and Pedro. At a screening, someone who is not an immigrant or disabled noted how they came to the screening expecting to learn about someone else and, instead, learned about themselves. Hernandez says, "I think that kind of response has been really informative for Pedro because now he understands the power of his story and how it becomes a catalyst for people to open up about their own vulnerabilities."
You can watch "unseen" on September 29 during Milwaukee Film’s Dialogues Documentary Festival. Both Set Hernandez and Pedro will be doing a Q&A in person after the screening.
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