Based on the inspiring true story of Dr. Ming Wang, Sight explores the common ground where faith and science meet. Musician, dancer and ophthalmologist, Dr. Wang is one of a handful of laser eye surgeons in the world to hold a doctorate in laser physics. Wang’s lifelong passion is to provide free sight-restoring surgeries for orphans the world over. He has won numerous philanthropy and achievement awards for his work in sight restoration.
Against all odds
Based on his autobiography From Darkness to Sight, the film, starring Terry Chen (Almost Famous) and featuring Greg Kinnear (As Good as it Gets), depicts Dr. Wang’s remarkable journey from childhood poverty in Hangzhou, China, to celebrated eye surgeon and philanthropist in the U.S. As a boy, Dr. Wang survives dark, traumatic events during the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976) in which the government closes schools and universities and deports the country’s youth to rural labor camps. To avoid deportation, Wang learns to play the ehru – a Chinese violin – and practices dancing. Becoming accomplished in both, he and his brother join a song and dance propaganda troupe.
When the universities open again in 1976, Wang has lost three years of high school education and is acutely reminded by his mother that there is no guarantee of educational institutions remaining open. Receiving an education is urgent – and crucial to overcoming poverty. His struggle includes grueling 19-hour days of study, and against all odds, Wang becomes one of four students in his province to gain university entrance. His persistence there wins him a teaching assistant position in Maryland. Despite facing discouraging racism, Wang completes both medical and laser physics doctorates, graduating magna cum laud with the highest honors from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Faith and science
Throughout his studies, Wang struggles with the idea that random evolution could result in such a complex structure as the human eye. He asks a professor about this. “The professor opened a window to the Lord in my heart,” explains Wang. “I began to understand that there is a Creator for everything, so I became a Christian.”
In his research to reduce scarring to the cornea after injury, Wang encounters an ethical dilemma. Praying for wisdom, he feels God leading him to persevere (James 1:4) in finding a way to conduct his research without compromising his values. Not until twenty years later does he experience a breakthrough, which, according to Wang, is an answer to his decades-earlier prayer. Looking back, he also recognizes that his childhood struggles, and darkness have helped him connect emotionally with many of his patients, in understanding and compassion.
Healing and redemption
After forming the Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration, Wang meets Kajal, a six-year-old orphan from India, intentionally blinded by her stepmother and then left abandoned. Treating Kajal is one of the greatest challenges and joys Dr. Wang will experience.
Throughout his career of performing over 55,000 surgeries (4,000 on fellow physicians), Dr. Ming Wang relies on God’s guidance and healing. He harnesses his past darkness to bring hope to the present. Wang’s focus, tenacity, humility and faith have created a ripple effect that has impacted the lives of countless people worldwide.
The film is engaging, realistic and inspiring. Sight was awarded “Best Picture – Gold Crown” by International Christian Visual Media (ICVM).
On May 24, 2024, the film “Sight” will be released in theatre’s across the U.S. and Canada, by Angel Studios. It will also become available on various media streaming networks. To learn more, visit https://www.drmingwang.com/ or https://www.angel.com/tickets.
To see the trailer, go to https://www.sightthemovie.com/videos/
Marion Van Driel delights in her roles as a wife, mother and grandmother; her soul is fed by both composing and composting. Music, words, form and colour are ingredients on which she thrives. She considers her garden a gift where family and friends gather to visit, heal, reflect and celebrate. Called as writer, artist, worship leader, gardener and (sometimes reluctant) follower of Christ, she bears evidence of God’s abundant grace without which she’d be someone else entirely.
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