INTERVIEW: Sound producer Eliza Jane South on film Touch, 'a motion picture without pictures'

A new Australian film has been created for and with people with blind or low vision. Sound engineer Eliza Jane South shares her experience of how the professional and personal collided in this project.

Eliza Jane South says she initially had her doubts about executing a motion picture without pictures but is pleased with the result in the film Touch. Source: Supplied

In Australia, more than 575,000 people are living with low vision or blindness.

For these Australians, the experience of the cinema and movies is enhanced through the use of audio description - a separate audio track or narrator to describe what is shown visually on the screen.

The idea of a feature-length film without pictures was a new and novel concept for sound producer Eliza Jane South.

Her lived experience of blindness and her professional experience came together in her role as an attachment to the sound engineering team for the film Touch, which follows the story of Ben, who gets trapped in the consciousness of his father, Frank, after an experiment goes wrong.

Eliza Jane South spoke with Biwa Kwan.

Touch is directed by award-winning director Tony Krawitz and produced by MasterCard in collaboration with Westpac.

It premieres at the Westpac Open Air outdoor cinema in Sydney on 13 February. Ticket sales will be donated to Blind Citizens Australia.