Looking UP

TYPE: Documentary Feature
GENRE: Documentary
STATUS: In Distribution

LOGLINE

LookingUP (new title) is the inspiring story of Eitan Armon, a young man facing encroaching blindness, as he takes on the challenge of climbing the world’s most epic granite wall, El Capitan.  

SYNOPSIS

Diagnosed with RP while serving in the military, Eitan faces the reality of a life without eyesight. Retinitis Pigmentosa, or RP, is a very rare and incurable genetic disease that gradually causes blindness over time.  With about 5% of his central vision remaining, Eitan decides to challenge himself and ascend Yosemite’s daunting El Capitan. Refusing to be limited by his limitations, Eitan’s journey demonstrates that life has endless possibilities for those who approach it with positivity and resilience. In LookingUP, Eitan lets go of everything he can’t control and focuses on what he can.

The portaledge of El Capitan is where we find Eitan, camping out 1500 feet above the Yosemite Valley floor, eating peanut butter and taking in the view with the little central vision he still has. Eitan’s journey is told through filmed scenes of Eitan — maneuvering around NY with a white cane; undergoing medical treatment with his doctors at the University of Iowa; discussing positive psychology with his professor and mentor Tal Ben Shachar; examining advances in the science of stem cell retinal transplantation at the Institute for Vision Research; meeting with RP patients who have more advanced disease; and learning to rock-climb. Throughout Eitan’s journey, we come to appreciate the strength of character of a young man who has been dealt a bad hand and refuses to sink into despair. The film showcases Eitan’s resilience, great sense of humor, and grit.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

It all started when I met Eitan Armon at a documentary film screening while he was a psychology student at Columbia University. His walking stick was folded in his hand, and I had no idea that he was visually impaired. All I sensed was his charm, intelligence, and impish sense of humor. I later discovered not only that he was largely blind but that he had lost his eyesight relatively recently.  

Eitan called me a few years later to make a short video sharing his experience participating in a RP medical trial, hoping to inform other RP patients who might benefit. Long story short, when Eitan decided he needed a new challenge and Yosemite captured his imagination, the project transformed from a short recruitment video into a feature film.

Climbing the Zodiac route of El Capitan was the perfect metaphor for Eitan’s journey from despair to enlightenment. A few years earlier he had transformed from an elite soldier to a civilian with a disability; from protecting others to receiving offers of protection to cross the street.  Eitan internalized and implemented the power of positive psychology as an escape from his personal black hole. I wanted to share Eitan’s uplifting story of resilience – and his unique charm –  with a film audience. 

LookingUP is a universal story about overcoming limitations and transforming challenges into opportunities: we all have something that holds us back; the trick is to find a way past it. The act of taking on new challenges and pushing ourselves to try new things – fail or succeed –  is what ultimately contributes to mental wellbeing.  

Making LookingUP was an incredible journey for me, personally. Eitan has inspired me to push myself beyond my comfort zone, focus on the possible, and take on new challenges. This is my debut feature film. I’m not sure I would have taken on a project of this scale had Eitan not shown me the power of thinking big and persevering.

KEY CREW

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