OUR CO-BLIND – An Ethnography of Care among Visually Impaired Communities in Baguio: A film screening and talk by Masato Ushimaru

"OUR CO-BLIND - An Ethnography of Care among Visually Impaired Communities in Baguio" is an ethnographic film along with a photobook produced based on six months of anthropological fieldwork by Japanese photographer and ethnographic filmmaker Masato Ushimaru.

“Created as part of a research project for the Visual Anthropology master's program at Aarhus University (Denmark), this work focuses on the autonomous communities and social movements formed by visually impaired individuals living in and around the highland city of Baguio in Benguet Province, Northern Philippines. Using an ethnography of care practices within their community as a starting point, the film depicts situational, emergent, and generative care relationships that transcend the binary roles of "caregiver" and "care recipient." Furthermore, it captures how the "bigger voices" gained through collective living and solidarity among people with disabilities are heard in Northern Philippine society, leading to social movements. Here, the reality emerges that "care," often discussed in emotional and humanistic terms, is also a highly logical and strategic practice.”

The film has won awards and been screened at the ABQ Indie Film Festival 2024 (USA) and FICIMAD (Spain), with exhibitions of video and photographic works held in Japan, Denmark, and the Philippines. In May 2024, a public screening and dialogue session took place at the University of the Philippines Baguio.

The photobook OUR CO-BLIND -A Visual Ethnography of the Visually Impaired Community in the Northern Philippines is published by Studio Boukei in January 2025. Available to purchase in the weekend market on July 12-13.