Blind Filmmaker debuts her thesis film at Loyola Marymount University
Many packed into a small theater at Loyola Marymount University to watch the thesis films from graduate students play throughout Thursday afternoon.
However, one movie drew the crowd's attention because the writer, director and producer, who was sitting in the front row, couldn't actually see it.
"I started losing my vision in May of 2020 and lost it totally by the end of June," said filmmaker Taylor Aguilar.
Aguilar was blind within weeks of being diagnosed with inner cranial hypertension.
"It's a grieving process," she said. "So, sometimes I'm still angry about it. Sometimes, I'm upset and sad."
Aguilar was writing the first draft of her thesis film, "Sol," when she learned about her diagnosis. It's a coming-of-age story based on her relationship with her mom. But with her condition, the filmmaker had to put her dream on hold.
"I had to relearn how to do it all in a different way," she said.
Aguilar spent eight months at the Colorado School of the Deaf and the Blind. Despite the difficulties, Aguilar's doggedness never allowed her to quit on her dream.
She persevered, even meeting her partner at the school. The pair had a baby two months ago.
"I can't imagine doing anything else," said Aguilar. "I don't want to tell my daughter one day I had to pivot completely because I was blind."
This past year, the tenacious artist waded through her new frontier to finish her film and graduate as a Master of Fine Arts.
"Instead of storyboarding the way you usually do with sketches, we did it with legos so I could feel it and move it around," Aguilar said.
Aguilar continued to work with her actors, using her hands to demonstrate her vision for the film.
"It was such a joy," said actress Olivia Rodriguez. "Taylor is one of the most talented people I've ever met ... It's so incredible that I got to help her vision come to life and she didn't even know what it looked like."
While Aguilar couldn't watch her film debut on the big screen, she got to hear what it meant to those watching.
"There are plenty of blind people out there but they're not seen because people aren't watching us," she said.
But the world will be watching her now.
Aguilar plans to continue to share her vision by making films and proving that sight is so much more than what we see.
