Multi Emmy® Award-winning series, POV, reimagines a cinema more accessible for audiences with vision loss in unseen, the debut film by Filipino-American director Set Hernandez, recent winner of the Truer than Fiction Award—presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features—at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Through experimental cinematography and sound, the documentary’s person-first approach centers the lived experiences of a queer filmmaker and blind protagonist whose undocumented status has impacted their choices. This powerful work explores the intersections of immigration, disability, mental health and belonging. unseen is produced by Hernandez, Day Al-Mohamed, and Félix Endara; co-produced by Dorian Gomez Pestaña; and POV alum and Academy Award® nominee Diane Quon (Minding the Gap, Wuhan, Wuhan) is the executive producer.
unseen will have its national broadcast premiere on POV Monday, March 18 at 10pmET/9C (check local listings) on the PBS television channel, and will be available to stream until June 16, 2024 via pbs.org, and the PBS App.
Made over the course of seven years of friendship, unseen begins as an observational journey of Pedro, an aspiring social worker who happens to be a blind undocumented immigrant, confronting political restrictions in order to get his college degree. Guided by a conversation between him and director Hernandez, unseen explores Pedro’s relationships to everyone around him: his family who supports him while he studies to become a mental health professional, and his triathlon coach who encourages him on long distance bike rides. The film is a jagged quest towards healing in a society that struggles to see those with these challenges as multi-dimensional.
To personalize this story, Hernandez chose to shoot the documentary at times without a lens and with handheld cameras in order to craft an audio-first cinematic experience. Inspired by the experience of watching a film with audio description, unseen’s often out-of-focus cinematography is not to simulate the experience of a blind viewer, but an invitation to watch a film by listening as opposed to seeing it visually.
“I originally conceived of unseen for advocacy; to bring awareness to Pedro’s layered experience around disability and immigration,” said director, Set Hernandez. “But I soon realized that confining Pedro only within the parameters of his identities and struggles misses the fullness of his story. In the end, the film became about vulnerability and showing up as one’s fullest, most authentic self. I hope audiences can have that same experience when they watch unseen.
I am especially humbled to partner with POV, considering its commitment to social impact. Growing up in a working-class immigrant household, my family could never afford cable. I’ve been watching public television (PBS) since I was 12 years old. As POV pu
Now in its historic 36th season, POV continues to share bold, visionary stories as America’s longest running non-fiction series on television. In addition to standard closed captioning for all films, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.
unseen will be available for streaming concurrently with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. PBS station members can view many series, documentaries and specials via PBS Passport. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.
