[Nfbnet-members-list] Help Stella Win the Greek America Foundation Short Film Contest!

[Robert Gardner]

On my first visit to Greece some years ago, I 
stood on top of the Acropolis in Athens with my 
wife, Nancy.  I was disappointed to find 
ourselves at a fence in front of the 
Parthenon.  That marked the point as to how close 
tourists could get to the Parthenon.  You 
couldn't go into it, you could only look at 
it.  Which meant for me, someone blind, that I 
couldn't really experience the Parthenon at all.


Several years later, Nancy and I again visited 
Greece.  This time, however, I had written to 
various authorities asking permission to be 
allowed to go beyond the fence and at least touch 
the Parthenon.  And believe it or not, permission 
was given, and it actually happened!  In fact, I 
was not only allowed to just touch the marble of 
that famous temple, but was given a tour inside it.



I wrote an article describing that adventure, and 
it was published in the Braille Monitor, the 
magazine of The National Federation of the 
Blind.  My story, Another  Wonder, can be read at

<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm05/bm0501/bm050103.htm>https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm05/bm0501/bm050103.htm



I was contacted late last year by Stella 
Kyriakopoulos, a Greek-American graduate film 
major at New York University.  She wanted to 
create a short film for her University work, and 
also to enter in the Greek America Foundation 
Film and Photo Week short film contest.  Stella, 
who is not handicapped, decided to have as her 
theme for her short film ,of all things, a 
visually impaired tourist visiting Greece.



By some very diligent searching on the web, or 
maybe by some miracle, she ran across my article 
published back in 2005.  After many E-mails, many 
phone calls, a visit by Stella to Athens, and a 
visit by her to my home, she produced her ten-minute video for the contest.



Her short film entitle "Bob Goes to the 
Parthenon," is essentially a documentary of my 
story, "Another Wonder."  The video includes 
interviews Stella made with the Greek citizens I 
met and talked about in that story, those 
interviews done in Athens and even on top of the 
Acropolis.  In Stella's visit to my home, she 
videoed me giving my thoughts and views on 
blindness, on the need for those blind to aspire 
to independence, and also shows me doing everyday 
tasks around my home that some might think a blind person couldn't do.



I invite you to watch the video at the website, 
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cAWTc5sSCE&list=PLVBcTpng8Az22T2VrOaPsp5AWQBrraEgj&index=1>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cAWTc5sSCE&list=PLVBcTpng8Az22T2VrOaPsp5AWQBrraEgj&index=1



An alternative way to watch the video and vote 
"like" for it is to go to the website 
<http://www.youtube.com>www.youtube.com, then put 
in Bob goes to the Parthenon into the search 
box.  Once that opens, click on the link to 2013 GFFW short film contest.



Stella put her heart and soul into her video, 
making trips from New York to Athens, and New 
York to Illinois.  Let's help her win the short 
film contest by voting "like" on the YouTube 
website.  And don't hesitate to forward this 
message to your friends and family.



Note:  for those using a screen reader, you may 
have some difficulty on the YouTube website 
finding where to click on "like."  I know I did, 
using JAWS.  Unfortunately, I have no tips on how 
to facilitate that other than perhaps getting some sighted help.



Bob Gardner

Blackhawk Chapter

NFB of Illinois
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