One of the more intriguing premieres in Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti Extra section this year is Teemu Nikki’s The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See Titanic. Shot from a blind man’s perspective, the atypical action/thriller film follows a man who has to go through hell to reach his loved one. Jaakko is blind and disabled, tightened to his wheelchair. He loves Sirpa. Living far away, they have never met in person, but they meet every day over the phone. When Sirpa is overwhelmed by the shocking news, Jaakko decides to go to her immediately despite his condition. In any case, he just needs to rely on the help of five strangers in five places: from home to taxi, from taxi to station, from station to train, from train to taxi and finally from taxi to… her. Ahead of the Venice premiere, we’re pleased to debut the exclusive trailer.
“In spring 2019 I asked my friend, Petri, whether he still would like to act,” said the director. “He admitted that it was still his dream, and I promised to write him a role in a short film. The role grew into a main role and the short film grew into a feature film. Petri’s MS is so aggressive that we were in a hurry to film. Petri told me that he still travels on his own, even though he is blind and only right-hand moves. That is where the idea came from. Nevertheless, I did not want to make a documentary about a disabled actor. I wanted to work with Petri, an actor who happens to be blind and in a wheelchair. Our main character has the same disease as Petri, but the script is fictional.”
Watch the exclusive trailer below.