View a pre-release screening of Sense the Wind: Blind Sailors Race Across Open Water, an hour-long documentary which follows the journey of four blind sailors as they train and compete in national and international regattas. A discussion with local filmmaker Christine Knowlton will follow.

Sense the Wind is a journey led by four sailor —Nancy, Inky, Philip and Matt—as they train and compete at the Blind Nationals and press toward Japan’s Blind Sailing World Championships. It follows the evolution of these individuals over several years as they advance as sailors, through life’s turns—medical challenges, marriage, retirement and the vicissitudes of their sport, still new and evolving. Over time they help shape the future of blind sailing.

Six years in the making, Sense the Wind, is currently being previewed in outreach and at film festivals around the globe. The film was recently was given a Humanitarian Award by The Socially Relevant Film Festival in New York.

Filmmaker Christine Knowlton has created videos for nonprofit organizations, including the U.S. Disabled Sailing Championships and the Robie Pierce One-Design Regattas. Her award winning first short, Going Blank: Alzheimer’s Stories, premiered at the Westchester Film Festival and played international festivals. Sense The Windis her first feature documentary. Christine has also collaborated on experimental multimedia videos with international contemporary composers and produced multimedia events featuring dance, spoken word and video screened with live music performances.

In broadcast production, Christine worked on the HBO hit Bored to Death. She was a selected filmmaker for the Celebrating Women Filmmakers Education Outreach at the Jacob Burns Film Center and taught video at the SUNY/WCC Summer Digital Labs. She is a member of New York Film and Television and active on the Archives Committee preserving stories of women.