‘Movie in the Dark’ to be held Aug. 13 to benefit Freeman Foundation

Travis Freeman

Want to know what’s it’s like for someone who is blind to experience a feature film?

August 13 will be a good chance to do just that as The Freeman Foundation is hosting its first ever “Movie in the Dark” at Tri-County Cineplex.

The movie will begin at 7:00 p.m. Participants will be watching “23 Blast,” a biopic based on the life of Dr. Travis Freeman, an ordained minister and adjunct professor of religion at the University of the Cumberlands, who lost his sight in middle school. His fight to overcome the hurdles that naturally came with sudden blindness were the subject of “23 Blast” his autobiography “Lights Out: Living in a Sightless World.” He is also president and CEO of The Freeman Foundation — an organization he created to promote the needs and potential of people with disabilities.

“We are always looking for new ways to expose people to what it’s like being visually impaired,” Freeman said.

The movie will have all the sights and sounds of the original production, but also will include an additional “descriptive audio” track which explains what is happening onscreen when there is no dialogue, or in between dialogue.

“It’s a pretty widespread thing now,” Freeman said.

“It’s great. My wife, Stephanie, actually enjoys watching shows with it. It brings attention to things you may not notice, or that you may not find as important as you should when you are watching the show.”

Participants in the event will be blindfolded for the movie. Freeman said when he first lost his sight, experiencing an “AD” enhanced movie was something special. It happened at a theater in Louisville.

“Most of the time, someone would sit next to me and tell me what’s going on, but it can be a little difficult for them to whisper and not bother anyone else,” Freeman said. “At that theater in Louisville, they had the audio description option … It was a neat experience and allowed me to enjoy the movie in a way, in the theater, that I never had before.”

Tickets for the event will be first-come, first-serve. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to benefit the Freeman Foundation — a non-profit charitable organization. You can register for the event online through the Freeman Foundation’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/thefreemanfoundation.