Touch: Australia’s first ever feature-length ‘motion picture without pictures’ premieres

A motion picture without pictures. A movie you don’t need to see. When it comes to cinematic experiences, this has hit a whole other level.

IMAX, 3-D, ScreenX.

When it comes to hitting the cinema, we’ve seen some major changes in recent years.

But a motion picture … without any pictures? That’s a whole different level.

TOUCH – an immersive cinematic experience by Mastercard in partnership with Westpac – follows the story of Ben, who along with two unlikely companions, gets trapped in the consciousness of his father, and must rifle through his memories.

The concept of creating an entertaining, engaging and rich story to appeal to a broad audience using only audio was daunting, even for award-winning filmmaker Tony Krawitz.

“It was a mix of excitement … and abject terror, of that, ‘How are we going to do this?’” Krawitz told news.com.au of being approached about the project.

Created by a diverse cast and crew, TOUCH aims to redefine what a trip to the movies could be without pictures orienting the storyline - making the experience more inclusive for people who are blind or have low vision.

Some aspects of pulling it all together mirrored the template Krawitz had used on his previous films – including focusing on characters and emotion – but mostly, he needed to flip his usual process on its head.

“We’re working on the script thinking, ‘How do you hear that’? [We didn’t have] all the things you’d normally take for granted that people see, like in body language.

“All the sounds of each environment were really thought through and took us a long time in the scripting process. It’s amazing how much we’ve all learned.”

TOUCH premieres next month. Picture: Supplied

Krawitz added that he and the film’s sound director – Elvis, Happy Feet and Mad Max: Fury Road’s Wayne Pashley – leaned in to the challenge of “painting a world without pictures”.

“We realised it’s like reading a book in a way where, we all imagine a different world sometimes … What’s really beautiful with this is that your brain’s free to imagine something quite unique.”

The film was also created in collaboration with inclusive organisation Bus Stop Films, and a production crew bolstered by blind and low-vision members.

“It’s such a powerful tool, the sound and music, but it’s secondary to vision,” Krawitz explained.

“Actually putting it first has been a huge learning curve and working with blind people like Ben Phillips who was my attachment and cultural consultant and an amazing guy, just the way he talked about the way he orients himself in a room or if he’s lost, how do you hear aerospace?

“That’s been really life-changing, thinking about how we hear our way through our lives.

“ … I felt just so much generosity from the people I’ve worked with, that of just being really honest and vulnerable and clear about what it’s like for them to live with low vision or with blindness and to really open up about it in terms of the storytelling.”

Krawitz with Ben Phillips, who previously appeared in Offspring. Picture: Supplied

TOUCH was designed to make for an inclusive cinema experience – and according to the director, it really is for everyone.

“It’s like going on a ride you’ve never been on before. It’s such a journey for everyone,” Krawitz said.

“Anything can happen and crazy things do happen – it’s completely entertaining. You’re not going to be bored for a second, and you’re going to have an experience like no one’s had before.”

Touch will premiere at Westpac OpenAir in Sydney on February 13 with all ticket proceeds donated to Blind Citizens Australia.

Originally published as Touch: Australia’s first ever feature-length ‘motion picture without pictures’ premieres