SHANGHAI – In a new sci-fi micro movie for Chinese hardware innovation platform Ingdan, a smart contact lens lends eyesight to visually impaired people.
In the film, the blind tech entrepreneur Russ and his brother Joey invent smart contact lenses to experience the outside world the same way normal sighted people can experience it everyday. Although the film is set in the near future, there are already a number of high-tech glasses for the visually impaired under development today.
“The technology described in our film takes these ideas further as it connects it with the Internet of Things,” says Ingdan’s CMO Hongjiao. “The film ultimately needs to inspire hardware entrepreneurs to come to our platform and give us a proposal of what they think the Internet of Things will look like in the future.”
Ingdan – The Greatest Gift from Goodstein on Vimeo.
The story is inspired by the real life tragedy of Russ Kan, a talented tech entrepreneur, who plays himself in the film. One day after a stressful day at the office, he suddenly loses his eyesight, causing his whole life to change dramatically. “There is a fine line between inspiring visually impaired people and giving them false hope,” says director and Goodstein Founder Georg Warga. “It was crucial to cast someone who has the credibility but also the bravery to pretend that he can see, when he actually can’t.”
“The film put an enormous challenge upon us,” says Ruben Kosman, Executive Producer for The Hype from Pixomondo. “Real world tech involves a pair of camera-equipped glasses that transmit images to a retinal implant surgically placed in one of the user’s eyes.” Aslan Malik, who art directed all VFX for Pixomondo adds: “The tech in our film does not exist yet but had to be believable beyond doubt.”
Russ Kan, who has dedicated his life’s work to improve the conditions of blind people in Taiwan says: “Today technology, especially text-to-speech software allows me to surf the net, consume content and communicate with others. This crude tech is a lifeline for me, I depend on it the same way he depends on his brother Joey. Our film is about independence and how such a technology could change my and other people lives for the better.”
