‘My Eyes Are Up Here’ picked for Vimeo’s Staff Pick, Short of the Week, and Director’s Notes
Representation and inclusion matter. Everyone should be able to see themselves reflected in characters in film and TV and not merely in the lip service one-dimensional stories often seen, especially in relation to those with disabilities. My Eyes are Up Here, directed by Nathan Morris, is a perfect example of how to do it the right way. A classic story of waking up, bleary-eyed next to someone who you don’t know very well and the ensuing panic upon discovering a split condom. It’s a widely universal tale and treated exactly that way by Morris. The New Zealand-born director immediately connected with Aminder Virdee’s script whose authenticity and raw character-led narrative he could easily see translated visually. My Eyes Are Up Here is at its very core a familiar tale of girl meets boy, yet goes beyond that simplistic framing to reflect on the way we treat people we deem as different. In our conversation below with Morris for today’s premiere, we discuss the challenges he had finding accessible friendly locations in our very ableist world, working with lead actor Jillian Mercado to cater to her lived experiences and give her ownership of her role and how they ensured that representation and inclusion were central to every part of the production.
A word from director Nathan Morris:
We're absolutely thrilled to share some exciting news with you: "My Eyes Are Up Here" is now available for online viewing - After screening to audiences in over 30 festivals across the globe and winning a few awards, we're beyond excited to announce that we’ve been handpicked for a Vimeo's Staff Picks collection. Enjoy and we can't wait to hear what you think! (Unless you think it’s shit).
