Living in the world with low vision and albinism comes with a set of difficulties and frustrations the sighted majority never has to think about. Jennie Bovard, a legally blind podcaster and soon to be TV star, looks at the situation with laughs in mind.
Pretty Blind is a new TV show debuting on July 8 on AMItv. It’s based on the true to life experiences of Jennie Bovard, and created with Canadian comedy veteran Jonathan Torrens and writer-showrunner Mark Forward.
The Interview
It all began with a podcast.
“For the podcast, Low Vision Moments, the top priority for me was to have fun, and to make people laugh,” Bovard explains. “I reached a point [where I thought], I better start laughing at these things that are happening to me.”
As she explains it, to be partially sighted, and live with albinism, life, among other things, is a stream of embarrassing incidents — like walking up to the wrong vehicle when a friend is picking you up, or even mistaking someone else for your date.
“I started telling these stories and people were laughing,” she says. “We were all laughing, and I thought, this would make a great podcast,” she adds. “Podcasts are inherently accessible.”
AMI became a natural host for the Low Vision Moments podcast. AMI, according to its website, is “the world’s first television network to broadcast all programs with open format described video for Canadians who are blind or partially sighted”. Most cable TV providers in the country provide it at no additional cost to their basic digital cable package.
It was AMI that connected Bovard with Torrens, and suggested a TV version of the kind of stories she was telling on her successful podcast.
On the TV show, Jennie becomes Jennie Bonang, a heroine with a side of sarcasm who is at a crossroads. She’s just broken up with her boyfriend, is getting into conflicts with her boss at the library, and is coping with a new, well meaning but overbearing, roommate.
“Many of the stories and experiences that people will enjoy in the Pretty Blind comedy series come […] directly from the podcast.”
“It was cathartic. I want to make content that I want to listen to,” Jennie says. “There wasn’t enough pale person and blind content,” she adds.
“Being part of the fun and being part of the satire is inclusion.”
Pretty Blind is pretty unique on the North American TV landscape. “There really isn’t anything like it out there.”
Living With Partial Sight
Having fun and representing a poorly understood perspective are the basis; raising general awareness is an overarching concern.
“It’s easy as a person living with a disability to get frustrated,” Bovard says. “The built in environment is not where we’d like it to be.”
The show, like the podcast takes that frustration and turns it into punch lines. “Bringing it back to laughter, and enjoying life.”
She notes that it can be easy to blame everyone and everything for the incessant inequities — and ignorance — faced by those who are partially sighted, and many other people who live with disabilities of various kinds.
“At the end of the day, it’s partly my responsibility as someone with a disability to educate the people around me,” she says. “Some days are more difficult than others.”
Educating through humour makes the lesson more palatable. “It’s really serving me and my community,” she says of her efforts. “How can I expect anybody else to understand my disability when they don’t have a personal connection to it?” she asks. “Awareness is a massive component.”
Awareness: The Production
That sense of awareness extends to the production itself, which Bovard says has been written and planned, down to the logistics of putting the sets together, to facilitate not only for her needs, but those of actors with different types of blindness.
“It’s throughout the whole fabric of the show.”
When it comes to the audience, the goal is to introduce a perspective listeners and viewers may have never considered.
“We never want to make people feel bad,” she explains. “I want to invite them in, and have a laugh,” she adds. “If you are able to enjoy these stories and learn a little from them — if someone comes away with an aha moment, that’s fantastic.”
Comedy is a storytelling mode with a built in appeal.
“Comedy is such a nice — not just nice, it’s effective, because everybody loves to laugh.”
A Shift In Thinking
Working on a series with low vision artists at its centre is a gift. “What a privilege to be able to be part of this shift we see in entertainment,” Bovard says.
She appreciates the boost from Jonathan Torrens and Mark Forward. Some of the guests on the show are people she’s admired in various ways. “It’s huge for me,” she says.
“One thing that is really incredible — we’re using integrated described video.”
Integrated described video takes the concept from the usual described video track right back to the production phase, and follows the principles of Universal Design. Key visual elements of the series are identified throughout the production by various means, and it eliminates the need for conventional described video.
For example, the dialogue of the show incorporates descriptive language, and mentions proper names where they might otherwise be left out.
“For example, my character, Jennie, I’m always wearing red,” Jennie says. It allows viewers with low vision to easily follow the action. “That mimics real life,” she notes. “I think that’s really unique to this project.”
As she explains, in real life, people with low vision will take note of broad details like the colour and shape of someone’s coat, their distinctive way of walking, or audible cues, in order to recognize and identify people.
“I don’t think that’s ever been done before. I am, I think, in Canadian television, this is the first time we’ve had the lead in a scripted TV comedy who is blind and who has albinism.”
It’s no small triumph. The real world of broadcasting and media is not what she thought she’d found in college.
“I went to college for film and TV production. In school, I could pick and choose my roles,” she explains. When she graduated and tried going to auditions, she found the reality was drastically different. “It was a slap in the face. You’re tripping on things, you’re spilling things. You had had to be visually adept.”
Those were also aspects that were planned for in the production of Pretty Blind. The sets are laid out so as to be easily navigable. Strong, bright lights disrupt vision for the partially sighed, so the windows are covered, and the show uses cameras that require a minimal amount of light in order to shoot.
“It was those real barriers that we were able to remove.”
A Message
Jennie is hoping the message will come across clearly.
“Other people who are blind and who have albinism, they can participate in this industry too.”
Pretty Blind has designed a kind of production template on how to remove those everyday barriers to participation by low vision and blind people. Hopefully, it will spark a larger trend.
“It’s much bigger than that,” she says. “I’m so excited.”
The Show
The cast includes Jacob Hemphill (Roll With It) as Yves; Jessica Barry (FROM) as Veronica; Dan Barra-Berger (All Access Comedy) as Steve; and MJ ‘Joanne’ Miller (Diggstown) as Sandy, alongside a cameo appearance from Jonathan Torrens, who also directs a few episodes throughout the season.
The Pretty Blind writers’ room includes showrunner Mark Forward, producer and director Jonathan Torrens, story editors Bovard and Barra-Berger, writing room coordinator Brad Rivers, and writing room assistant Maddie Leigh Murray. Bovard and Rivers are associate producers.
AMI, in partnership with Torrential Pictures, Club Red Productions, and Flow Video Inc., launches Pretty Blind on Tuesday, July 8, at 9 p.m. ET on AMI-tv and streams free anytime on AMI+ across Canada.
- You can check it out online [HERE].
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