US filmmaker Jane Weiner is working on a documentary about myopia entitled ‘Losing Sight’, scheduled for release in 2020.

Having done several films on science and health issues, Weiner said she was inspired when she heard about the current epidemic. “Everyone in my family is near-sighted, and although we’ve had our share of eye problems (cataracts, retinal detachment, macular degeneration, glaucoma), no one ever mentioned these maladies might be linked to our myopia.”

Because near-sightedness is something that can be easily “cured” with eyeglasses, most people don’t think of it as a “health” issue, she said in media reports, in fact many are more apt to consider eye wear a fashion accessory rather than count themselves in as statistically part of a worldwide epidemic. 

The documentary is designed to appeal to a broad, general audience, children, adolescents, parents, grandparents, in which complex scientific concepts are presented clearly and simply in easy-to-understand and decidedly non-scientific terms, she said.  

A trailer is available at https://vimeo.com/215833148