Synesthesia 2015
Distributed by Grasshopper Films, 12 East 32nd St., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Produced by John Christou, Aisling Chin-Yee, Alexandre Domingue
Directed by Aisling Chin-Yee
DVD, color, 17 min.
College - General Adult
Brain, Neuroscience, Aesthetics
Date Entered: 08/15/2017
Reviewed by Bonnie Jo Dopp, Librarian Emerita, University of MarylandMany artists and musicians have commented on how their eyes hear and ears see. This blending of senses is called synesthesia and the number of synthesthetes in the world appears to be growing. This short documentary contains interviews with several men and women who explain how their senses blend: tasting sounds, feeling pictures, experiencing letters or days of the week as colors. Synesthete musicians perform, a painter paints, a young woman explains how awkward it can be to tell people about her synesthesia. One composer relates how he ‘fixed’ a sound in a piece when it was ‘too furry’ and the musician he was speaking to said indeed, it was ‘too red.’ Their synesthesia manifested itself differently but they both ‘saw’ the same problem and didn’t need to explain themselves. Brain specialists say that the condition can be inherited, may be present to some degree in most people, and can appear suddenly after a brain injury. Technically, the program is well written and edited. It both looks and sounds just fine to my nonsynesthetic mind.
Awards
- Winner, Best Short Documentary, Crossroads Film Festival