Description
Object description
Film covers three main stories; Outward Bound School in Britain. German Ex-POW's settle in Provence. American Federation for Overseas Blind.
Content description
The first story presents the schools run by the Outward Bound charity in Cumberland [now part of Cumbria] and Wales. Students from across Europe attend the schools. Scenes of indoor study, hill running and a flying fox in use are shown. While the Cumberland school makes use of its mountainous surrounds, the Welsh school benefits from "the main classrooms, the river and the sea". Students are shown in sail and row boats. In Cumberland, mountain climbing and a simulated rescue are shown. The film emphasises that these activities will strengthen the personal skills of the students and their understanding of mutual reliance.
The second story introduces the French village of Gémenos, where German former Prisoners of War have settled. Villagers are shown cleaning clothes in a fountain while singing, while others knit. A war memorial, dedicated to those killed in a number of Second World War theatres and to the Maquis resistance groups, is tended to. The memorial has been designed by one of the newly resident Germans, Wolf Mueller. The film shows Mueller's compatriots in the surrounding area, at work as mechanic and as farmer. Another works as a radio mechanic. Mueller's studio is shown , where he has made a bust of the former mayor of Gémenos. Pétanque scenes follow, including scenes in which French and Germans argue over their games. A baptism is then shown, of a new child in the community, born to a French mother and German father. A baptismal document is signed for the child.
The final story focuses on some of the difficulties faced by blind people in studying and working, and some of the ways in which these are overcome. Scenes show students in a school for the blind. Their learning – and playing – is reliant upon their sense of touch and hearing. A game of football makes use of a tin can to make sound. The development of braille is briefly described. The film shows its application in the classroom, and on a pocket watch. At the American Foundation for Overseas Blind in Paris [now Helen Keller International] braille typewriters and printers are shown in production. A Brazilian woman is shown at work, as she learns the transcription of musical notation into braille. At the headquarters of UNESCO [at the Hotel Majestic on Avenue Kléber] meetings of experts on issues relating to blindness discuss ideas. John Jarvis [International Correspondent at the National Institute of the Blind] is briefly shown. Blind workers are shown employed in manufacturing and massage. Frenchmen, blinded during war, meet for dinner and cards. A blind organist is shown. The film ends with a procession in honour of Louis Braille, marking the centenary of his death. President Vincent Auriol waits for the arrival of Braille's body outside the Panthéon, where it is to be reinterred. Crowds follow the hearse, composed of people from many nations.
Physical description
35mm