Braille Music (2017) Documentary

Braille Music is the subject of a new documentary directed by American film-maker Michael House. It features six blind musicians who come together to record a tribute to Louis Braille.

As part of the film, we spent two days in Paris, treading the streets where Braille lived and worked. Brilliantly, the classroom where he taught, as well as numerous samples of his tactile code are preserved. Even more extraordinary is that his means of conveying stave notation in combinations of six dots remains largely unaltered and continues to thrive in the digital age.

As someone whose study and employment have depended largely on Braille, making this documentary was both very moving and a great privilege.

While we eagerly await news of a network broadcast, you can see the trailors and full credits on the IMDB website.

Braille Music was premiered at the Montreal International Film Festival of the Arts on 26 March. You can see more at the FIFA website.

Zoe Dixon’s setting of Hope by Emily Dickinson, commissioned especially for the film, can be downloaded from Amazon, iTunes UK and Google Play.

Proceeds will be donated to the Amber Trust, a charity supporting the musical endeavours of blind and partially sighted young people, including those with additional and complex needs.