German brand Sennheiser is perhaps best known for its market leading range of headphones, such as the very stylish Momentum series released last year. It receives less attention, however, for its assisted listening devices, which help people with hearing disabilities to gain an enhanced aural sense of the world around them.
To help raise awareness of the challenges faced by those with hearing difficulties, Sennheiser is sponsoring a new short film called Blue Mist. Set in Australia’s premier regional area (and my hometown) the Blue Mountains, Blue Mist tells the story of a deaf girl who becomes lost in bushland, and, through the craft of cinematic storytelling, it seeks to ask the audience the question, “What would you miss, if you were deaf?”.
According to Sennheiser’s press agent, Blue Mist writer and director Pauline Findlay was inspired to start this project after a visit to an audiologist where she discovered her hearing was reducing in one ear and she asked herself that question.
“What do 360 million people in the world have in common? They suffer from hearing loss. I fear I could be one of them!” Findlay said .
The other major sponsor of this film is Australian Hearing, one of Sennheiser’s major audiology partners.
The makers of Blue Mist, which is currently in post production, hope to screen the film at the Sydney Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.