Movie and Media

In the spring of 2003, Fred Harwin's reputation, skill and technique attracted producer Vance Malone of Portland, Oregon's Food Chain Films. After two full days of taping, Malone had enough footage to create an eight-minute long documentary about Harwin's work, simply entitled "Ocularist."

"Ocularist" illuminates the techniques used to create acrylic eyes and examines both the physical and psychological repercussions associated with the loss of an eye. By observing key points of contact between Harwin and his patient, Andy Jackman, Malone studied how eyes unconsciously convey intentions and affect social interactions and how acrylic eyes can transform faces, outlooks and lives. The film received an honorable mention for short filmmaking at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, one of only eight films honored from more than 70 entries.

The short film and subsequent industry attention are now starting to focus the national spotlight on this specialized and unusual career, where ocularists must perform the extremely detailed task of matching a prosthetic eye to a real one or even creating an set of eyes from scratch.

Watch Ocularist

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