Sedona Film Festival is partnering with Northern Arizona University's College of Health and Human Services for a "Blind AF" encore set for Monday, April 28.听
鈥淏lind AF鈥� just won the top award 鈥� Audience Choice Best of Fest Documentary 鈥� at the recent Sedona International Film Festival. The subject of the film, Shawn Cheshire 鈥� who now lives in Flagstaff 鈥� will be in person to host the film premiere and Q&A discussion following the screening, along with the director of the film, Gina LeVay.
An unflinching, emotionally raw story of courage, transcendence and the healing power of self-belief, 鈥淏lind AF鈥� tells the journey of聽Cheshire,聽 who is a聽blind female Paralympic champion and multiple world-record holder, as she becomes the first blind person to ride a single, non-tandem bike across the United States 鈥� 3,600 miles in 60 straight days 鈥� while confronting painful truths about her past she spent a lifetime trying to outrun.
Driven as much by the determination to live independently as by the restlessness and vulnerability borne of her complex PTSD, Cheshire forges a brave -- and often dangerous -- path through fear.
While working as a paramedic in 2009, Cheshire, a 36-year-old Army veteran and single mother of two, suffered a brain injury that left her suddenly and completely without sight. Spiraling into a debilitating suicidal depression, Shawn sought treatment at a VA hospital, where, through a combination of adaptive sports and treatment for complex PTSD, she learned to choose to live in a new reality. Despite her lack of training, within three years Cheshire was competing at the 2016 Paralympic games in Rio.
She would go on to become a 13-time paracycling U.S. national champion and a multiple world-record holder of extreme adventures. But her biggest challenge was still ahead.
鈥淏lind AF鈥� is at once a thrilling epic of athletic achievement and a transformative portrait of emotional resilience and bravery.
Meet the film鈥檚 subject, Cheshire, in person at this special Flagstaff encore.
Tickets are $12. The event is free for NAU students and faculty with ID.
For more information, call (928) 282-1177. Tickets can also be ordered in advance online at .