Cathedrals

While casting, I’d hoped to cast a blind actor to play the blind character in the script for authenticity's sake. However, while struggling to find the actor, I learned how few roles there were for the disabled. I reached out to Greg Shane of Theater By the Blind, an organization devoted to empowering the blind through performance arts, to help me find the man to fill the part. He told me most of his actors were living in poverty because Hollywood, as well as the greater workforce, tends to ignore blind people.

This is why I am proud to have had actor Rick Boggs play the role of Joseph. Rick, who has been blind since age 5, has devoted his adult life to providing accessibility services to the visually impaired. The process invigorated me to bring awareness to finding more opportunities for the blind in the arts. By donating some of our funding to blind advocacy organizations Theater By the Blind and Hearts For Sight, I hoped we could not only make a good movie, but do a little good, too.
Raymond Carver’s work has always had a special place in my heart. The story “Cathedral” made a huge impression on me when I first read it in college. I’d always dreamed about creating a film version that used unique sound design concepts to show the husband’s transformation, something only possible in independent film. Carver left the point of “Cathedral” purposefully vague, but I hoped to hone in one aspect: spiritual connection. These days, instead of religion, we find meaning through who we spend time with, what we focus on, what we think about. You might have noticed the added “s” to the title, changing “Cathedral” to its plural form. And this is because there are several places of worship in this version: the husband’s mistress, the wife’s close friend. The adaptation became about the husband realizing he chooses where he goes to “feel close to something bigger” than himself. It became a love story.