PANOPTICAL centers around Hew, a scientist who develops artificial eye technology that restores sight to a patient with degenerative eye disease. While similar technology is currently in development (NanoRetina, Second Sight), PANOPTICAL takes it a step further, allowing Hew to see through his patient’s eyes. This twist serves both as a plot device and an allegory for the increasingly pervasive aspects of technology and our eroding our privacy.

Hew, a right-leaning proponent of privatizing his country’s healthcare system, believes “people can pull themselves up by their own boot straps.” However, when he sees the disadvantages his impoverished patient faces in her attempts to get ahead in life, his philosophy is challenged and he is changed. By literally seeing the world through her eyes, his philosophy  becomes, “let’s make sure everyone has boots in the first place.”

The previous draft, PANARCTIC,  placed in the top 5% of 7,500 entrants in the esteemed Academy Nicholl Fellowships. The lookbook for the original script can be found on the lookbook page.

Gary Breslin, Executive Creative Director of O/DD (Office of Development & Design) is attached to direct.