An exclusive interview with director ANDREW HYATT discussing the emotional and inspiring SIGHT based on the true story of a man who never lost sight of his own vision.
SYNOPSIS: SIGHT follows the true story of Dr. Ming Wang, a Chinese immigrant who defies all odds to become a world-renowned eye surgeon. Drawing upon the grit and determination he gained from a turbulent uprising in his youth, Dr. Wang sets out to restore the sight of a blind orphan.
SIGHT is directed by ANDREW HYATT with script by John Duigan, Buzz McLaughlin, and Hyatt based on Dr. Ming Wang‘s autobiography From Darkness to Sight, and stars Terry Chen as Dr. Ming Wang along with Greg Kinnear as Wang’s best friend and medical partner Dr. Misha Bartnovsky, Fionnula Flanagan, Mia SwamiNathan, Jayden Zhang, Kiana Luo, and Ben Wang.
SIGHT follows Dr. Wang’s journey “from darkness to light” as he survives the violence of a cultural revolution that shuttered colleges and universities across China followed by life in a forced labor camp before finally immigrating to the United States where he ultimately attended University of Maryland, obtaining a Ph.D in laser physics, as well as graduating magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School and MIT as he worked to become perhaps the foremost laser eye surgeon in the world thanks to developing a technology using an amnionic membrane contact lens that restores sight. Wang donated the patent which has allowed eye surgeons from around the world to perform the sight-restoring surgery. Wang himself founded the Wang Vision Institute in Nashville, Tennessee and the philanthropic Wang Foundation, a non-profit charity that to date has helped patients from over 40 states in the U.S. and 50 countries with all sight restoration surgeries performed free-of-charge.
As we discussed Dr. Wang and the making of SIGHT, Andrew and I were both amazed that not only had neither of us had heard of Dr. Wang before this film and in Andrew’s case, before the book made its way to him, but that no one had made a film about his amazing story.
Digging into “the making of” SIGHT, it’s easy to hear that Andrew was deeply committed to telling this story in the most honest, caring, and compassionate way possible using all the tools in the cinematic toolbox to their best advantage. Very important to the film is not only the medical and humanitarian aspects but also the authenticity of the Asian American experience on film and the historical aspects and memories of a young boy that influenced who he became. Emphasizing the universal language of the human spirit and how the film transcends cultural boundaries, SIGHT inspires viewers to face their own trials and tribulations.
Looking specifically at the filmmaking process with telling this story, Andrew discusses at length, among others:
- the importance of collaboration
- knowing your storytelling vision and staying true to it
- challenges of working during COVID-19
- the power of personal experiences and cultural understandings
- ensuring authenticity in history and the representations of the Chinese culture in China and then in America
- developing the script
- casting, casting, casting
- Michael Balfry’s cinematography and the contrast of China during Wang’s youth and the lighter, brighter times in America; lighting and framing are critical elements to capturing transportive time and place
- collaborating with editor Dan O’Brien to find balance and seamless transitions between past and present; pacing
- Sean Johnson’s scoring; quiet, reverant, emotional; Asian influences with instrumentation
- working with Dr. Wang on this film
- working with Angel Studios
- and more!
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 05/17/2024
SIGHT will be in select theatres across the U.S. on May 24, 2024 and expanding thereafter.
