WILLFUL BLINDNESS

One murder has happened. Another man is chased and shot. As he crawls on the street no one notices or lends him help. Is he actually alive or might he be dead, a ghost? The audience joins the crawling man as he drifts though states of consciousness/unconsciousness and their understanding becomes suspended somewhere between a reality and a dream.

WILLFUL BLINDNESS rakes the boundaries of distant memory and familiar present. Three interwoven narrative threads are reconstituted in an unconventional, experimental, kaleidoscopic rollercoaster ride that becomes this visual experience. Surreal and shocking, yet oddly meditative, WILLFUL BLINDNESS is a stunning journey into personal choice and survival.

  • James Higginson
    Director
  • James Higginson
    Writer
  • James Higginson
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Feature
  • Completion Date:
    January 10, 2012
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Germany
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • LIFF
    Lucerne
    Switzerland
    July 10, 2012
    European
    Award of Merit
  • REEL International Film Extravaganza
    Washington, DC
    United States
    October 9, 2012
    US Premier
    Nomination-Best Experimental FIlm
  • Vegas Indie Film Festival
    Las Vegas
    United States
    March 15, 2012
    Best Editing Feature
  • Bridge International Film Festival
    Vancouver
    Canada
    February 4, 2012
    Official Selection
  • German Premier at Neue Deutsche Film Program
    Berlin
    Germany
    May 5, 2012
    German
  • 55 Venice Biennale
    Venice
    Italy
    July 20, 2013
    Italian Premier during the Biennale Festival
Director Biography - James Higginson

Director and fine artist James Higginson(Emmy Award, 1989) premiered his first feature length experimental art film, WILLFUL BLINDNESS, a visual experience, in 2012. WILLFUL BLINDNESS received 2 awards on the international independent film festival circuit, an award of merit from LIFF, premiered in Germany as part of the Neue Deutsche Film Program in Berlin, 2013 and held the Italian Premeire at Palazzo Zenobio during the 55th Venice Biennale, 2013.
Higginson followed this success with the documentary film, DEVOUT, 2016. This feature bore cinematic witness to the internalized struggle of a young Georgian Orthodox monk as it presented a stunning visual portrait of the work and lives inside the remote monasteries. DEVOUT received awards of excellence from the IMPACT DOC Awards! and IndieFEST Film Awards.
Higginson combines his 30+ years working as a fine artist and Hollywood professional to drive his creative auteur cinematic works. He confronts the viewer with arresting images that reveal the unspoken of today's world— the sacred, the profane, the spiritual and the material. The question Higginson consistently addresses is how to tell the stories of which we all are made and addresses issues that expose our human frailty.

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Director Statement

WILLFUL BLINDNESS is an art film experience that contains no spoken dialogue, only intense visuals and hard driving sound design/music.