Inspiring Best of Fest Award-winner from recent festival returns for theatrical run
Sedona, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Sedona encore of “Blind AF” showing May 30-June 4 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon and Mary D. Fisher Theatres.
“Blind AF” just won the top award — Audience Choice Best of Fest Documentary — at the recent Sedona International Film Festival.
An unflinching, emotionally raw story of courage, transcendence and the healing power of self-belief, “Blind AF” tells the journey of a blind female Paralympic champion and multiple world-record holder, Shawn Cheshire as she becomes the first blind person to ride a single, non-tandem bike across the United States — 3600 miles in 60 straight days — while confronting painful truths about her past that she spent a lifetime trying to outrun.
Driven as much by the determination to live independently as by the restlessness and vulnerability borne of her complex PTSD, Shawn forges a brave – and often dangerous – path through fear that stands as a powerful testament to the human spirit, and an encouragement for all of us to live our most authentic lives, whatever the risks.
While working as a paramedic in 2009, Shawn Cheshire, a 36-year-old Army veteran and single mother of two, suffered a brain injury that left her suddenly and completely without sight. Spiraling into a debilitating suicidal depression, Shawn sought treatment at a VA hospital where, through a combination of adaptive sports and treatment for complex PTSD, she chooses to live in a new reality. Despite her lack of training, within three years Shawn was competing at the 2016 Paralympic games in Rio and would go on to become a 13-time paracycling US National Champion and a multiple world-record holder of extreme adventures. But her biggest challenge was still ahead.
“Blind AF” is at once a thrilling epic of athletic achievement and a transformative portrait of emotional resilience and bravery.
Meet the film’s subject, Shawn Cheshire, in person at select screenings. Check the festival website for details.
“Blind AF” will be shown at the Alice Gill-Sheldon and Mary D. Fisher Theatres May 30-June 4. Showtimes will be Friday, Saturday and Wednesday, May 30, 31 and June 4 at 6:30 p.m.; Sunday and Monday, June 1 and 2 at 4:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, June 3 at 3:30 p.m.
Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.
PHOTO CAPTION
An unflinching, emotionally raw story of courage, transcendence and the healing power of self-belief, “Blind AF” tells the journey of a blind female Paralympic champion and multiple world-record holder, Shawn Cheshire as she becomes the first blind person to ride a single, non-tandem bike across the United States — 3600 miles in 60 straight days — while confronting painful truths about her past that she spent a lifetime trying to outrun.