Tereek — a young man trying hard not to reveal his lack of a home — is desperately looking for a bed for the night. The Deaf-Blind man needs help crossing the street and getting to a bus stand.

‘Feeling Through’ is a short film based on a real-life late-night encounter between Writer-Director Doug Roland and a Deaf-Blind man who was indeed trying to get home.

Many years after the incident, when Doug was ready to make the film, he tried locating the Deaf-Blind man he had met, but he couldn’t track him down. Not wanting to cast a professional actor, he reached out to the Hellen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults to help him locate a suitable Deaf-Blind person to play the role.

The Center helped Doug audition more than a dozen Deaf-Blind men from across the country, but none of them made the cut. Finally, an employee at the center asked, “How about Robert?”

Robert Tarango had spent twenty years in the Center’s kitchen, negotiating his often long, complicated commute on public transit every day. He was brought in, straight from the kitchen. And that is how this effusive and charismatic person participated in the audition, still in his apron, his hands wet and his face puzzled.

He not only got the role, but also went on to deliver an outstanding performance. Steven Prescod as the homeless Tereek has also delivered a memorable portrayal of the desparate teenager. At a screening of the film in Manhattan, Robert Tarango was cheered heartily as he joined Doug Roland and Steven Prescod in a panel discussion. Also enjoying the spotlight was Artz — Artemio Tavares, 39, of the Bronx, and the Deaf-Blind man that Doug Roland had been searching for, who inspired this story!