Goal Ball : A Sport For Good Listeners

Produced by: 
David Block
Year: 
1992
Duration: 
20 min

Sometimes there's more than one way to keep your eye on the ball. Goal ball is a professional sport played by the blind and visually impaired. Now played professionally in 35 countries, it was developed after World War II as a way of rehabilitating German soldiers who lost their vision in combat. Through game footage and interviews with players and coaches, this documentary explores the history, development and socializing role of this game as an effective way to teach blind and visually impaired people to work together, improve physical conditioning, raise self esteem and create a sense of community.

David Block is a legally blind journalist and the producer/director of three documentaries on disabled athletes including Portraits of Possibility(1996), and Brian's Run (2002). His works have been broadcast on two Philadelphia public television stations, WHYY TV12 and WYBE TV35 and theyíve received funding from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association, and the Karden Foundation. He can be reached via his Web site, www.BlindFilmmaker.com

Press: 

May 14, 1992 - "A Festival of Works By Area Video, Film Artists" by Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer
May 14, 1992 - Film About Team Sport For Blind To Be Shown" by Bill Murphy, The Main Line Times