“One of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen in my life.”
(Carole Rosenberg, Executive Director of the Havana Film Festival NY)

Category: documentary
(Color – NTSC/2010 – HD/2015 – 82 min. – Brazil and USA)

Synopsis: When it comes to visual impairment, we are often led to think of something sad and limiting.  In Beyond the Light, however, seven blind Brazilians show us with great optimism, humor and boldness how they live a normal life, and even a more productive life than many ordinary people. More than an example of overcoming and courage, Beyond the Light is one of the rare films about disability that leaves you inspired, motivated and more enthusiastic about life.

Distribution: Avanturi Productions
Production: Goulart Filmes
Executive producers: Nayglon Goulart and Marcelo Nigri
Producers: Marcelo Nigri, Yves Goulart and Nayglon Goulart
Director and screenwriter: Yves Goulart
Cinematography: Yves Goulart
B&W photographs: Walter Carvalho
Editing and research: Yves Goulart and Marcelo Nigri
Sound operator: Nayglon Goulart
Sound recording: Timothy Korn
Re-recording mixer: Tim Starnes
Color correction: Simone Mihich Bueno
Narration: Yves Goulart
Interviewees: Laélio Inácio, Vilmar Dal Toè, Francisco de Assis Domingos, Alexandre Rzatki, Vanderlei Pereira, Manoel de Souza, Maria da Gloria Almeida, Valnei Teixeira, Albertina Pessoa Domingos, Susan Pereira, Rosimeri de Fátima Dal Toè, Eulália Pereira Inácio and Claudia Rodrigues
Music: Heitor Villa-Lobos, by Aldo Baldin
Art designer: Luciane Nardi

 Portuguese (original audio, audio description and subtitles)

Audio description consultant: Ana Fátima Berquó
Audio description: Cleide Klock

 English (voice-over, audio description and subtitles)

Casting producer: Marcelo Nigri
Audio description: Allie Bethea
Narration: Josh Philip Weinstein
Voice-over of interviewees: George Shepherd (Laélio Inácio), Tom Shewchuk (Vilmar Dal Toè), Rhasaan Oyasaba Manning (Francisco de Assis Domingos), Mike Catapano (Alexandre Rzatki), Guilherme Parreiras (Vanderlei Pereira), Morris Mandell (Manoel de Souza), Hilma Falkowski (Maria da Gloria Almeida), Stephen Moskovitz (Valnei Teixeira), Minna Taylor (Albertina Pessoa Domingos), Susan Pereira (herself), De Anne Dubin (Rosimeri de Fátima Dal Toè), Cathy Figuccio (Eulália Pereira Inácio) and Laura Augeri (Claudia Rodrigues)
Translation: Marcelo Nigri and Robert McCullough

 French (voice-over, audio description and subtitles)

French voice-over coproduction: Association Sol do Sul
Voice-over coproducer: Jaqueline Dreyer
Casting producers: Tanise Dreyer Ramos and Marcelo Nigri
Audio description: Francine Baudelot
Narration: Pascal Yen-Pfister
Voice-over of interviewees: Damien Luce (Laélio Inácio), Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau (Vilmar Dal Toè), Stephane Mano Christian (Franciso de Assis Domingos), Eric Gandré (Alexandre Rzatki), Olivier Szlos (Vanderlei Pereira), Guy Rieutord (Manoel de Souza), Annette Morvan (Maria da Gloria Almeida), Sandro Maquiné de Souza (Valnei Teixeira), Ketty Ignam (Albertina Pessoa Domingos), Ilona Knopfler (Susan Pereira), Sylvie Fraissé (Rosimeri de Fátima Dal Toè), Ghislaine Joubaud (Eulália Pereira Inácio) and Cecile Leprout (Claudia Rodrigues)
Translation: Jeanne Roeder and Dermival Furtado Costa

 Spanish (subtitles)

Translation: Simone Mihich Bueno

 Chinese (subtitles)

Translation: Clara G. Starnes and Raquel Martins

Awards

  • Special Award by Popular Jury – BRAPEQ Brazilian Cinema Festival (Beijing, China, November 2010);
  • Golden Palm Award – Mexico International Film Festival 2010 (Rosarito, Mexico, May 2010).

​Special Screenings

  • Lighthouse International – DVD Release (New York, November 2012);
  • UNESCO – Special French Voice-Over Screening (Paris, November 2010);
  • Federal Senate of Brazil – Week Honoring Persons with Disabilities (Brasília, Brazil, December 2009);
  • United Nations – International Day of Persons with Disabilities (New York, December 2009).

Festivals

  • 8th Spring of Museums – Brazilian Institute of Museums (Florianópolis, Brazil, September 2014);
  • 7th Addis International Film Festival (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 2013);
  • The Way We Live – 6th International Film Festival about Disability (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, October 2012);
  • The Way We Live – 5th International Film Festival about Disability (São Paulo, October 2011 / Brasília, September 2011 / Rio de Janeiro, August 2011);
  • BRAPEQ Brazilian Cinema Festival (Beijing, China, November 2010);
  • 34th São Paulo International Film Festival (São Paulo, October 2010);
  • Ethnography Film Festival of Recife (Recife, Brazil, September 2010);
  • Mexico International Film Festival (Rosarito, Mexico, May 2010);
  • 11th Havana Film Festival New York – Official Selection (New York, April 2010);
  • 9th Picture This…International Disability Film Festival (Calgary, Canada, February 2010).

“Beyond the Light promotes a message of hope, humanity and understanding.  (…)  It is highly recommended for any collection of materials on blindness and other disabilities.”
(Kay Hogan Smith, Senior Research Librarian & Liaison to the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Read the complete review on Educational Media Reviews Online.

DVD-9 | NTSC-ALL
Category: documentary (color)
Running time: approx. 82 min.
Brazil rating: general audiences
Screen format: widescreen 16:9
Sound: stereo PCM
Distribution: Avanturi Productions
Release: 2012

Languages

Audio: Portuguese (original), English (voice-over) and French (voice-over)
Audio description: Portuguese, English and French
Subtitles: Portuguese, English, French, Spanish and Chinese
Menus: Portuguese, English and French

Extras

  • Over 90 minutes of commentary about the film in Brazil, the US, France, Mexico, China and Benin;
  • Exclusive interview with director Yves Goulart;
  • Exclusive testimony by photographer Walter Carvalho.

Educational / Institutional DVD

The educational / institutional DVD has a special license that allows for limited public performance within a school or organization to an audience outside the privacy of your home.  To buy the educational / institutional DVD of the film Beyond the Light, please contact Goulart Filmes.

IMAGES

PHOTOS BY WALTER CARVALHO

EVENTS

VIDEOS

PRESS