UNSEEN: THE LIVES OF LOOKING

This revelatory documentary from artist Dryden Goodwin focuses on four individuals, each with a distinct relationship to looking: an international eye surgeon, a NASA planetary explorer, a leading human rights lawyer and the artist/filmmaker himself.

Mixing Goodwin's closely observed drawings, live action and intricately woven soundtrack, the film explores different scales, forms and reasons for looking.

Revealed through intimate access is the empathy and dexterity of the surgeon working with the fragility of the human eye; the quest of the planetary explorer to decipher the cosmos and find evidence of life on Mars; and the scrutiny of the British government, by the lawyer, in extraordinary rendition, drone attack and mass surveillance cases.

Goodwin's looking and implicit presence links the lives of these probing observers, exposing a kinship between those who live by the sensory rules of observation, a desire to decode in pursuit of knowledge and insight.

Exploring the imaginative leaps we take to reveal what might be concealed or out of sight, the film considers the physical act of looking and the tools we use to perceive the world around us and how these form our own identities.

Nominee, Cameraimage International Film Festival,
Official Screening, National Maritime Museum, London, UK
Official Screening, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
Official Selection, CPH: DOX
Official Selection, Rotterdam International Film Festival

"A film that channels a powerful sense of humanity. Enigmatic, sumptuously produced portraits that feel truer and more revealing than a biographical tome." – Apollo Magazine