My Blind Date with Life

Saliya, a bright young man who has lost most of his sight, keeps his failing vision a secret as he chases his goal of working at a luxury hotel in Munich. He wins a place as a trainee at the renowned Bayerischer Hof, relying on luck, memory and quick thinking so that his colleagues and supervisors notice nothing. His friend Max eventually works out what Saliya is hiding and helps him practise the routines the job demands until he can perform them by feel. When Saliya falls for Laura, the careful system he has built to hide his condition becomes much harder to hold together.

My Blind Date with Life is a German comedy-drama directed by Marc Rothemund and written by Ruth Toma and Oliver Ziegenbalg. It is based on the real Saliya Kahawatte, and Kostja Ullmann plays him, with Anna Maria Mühe as Laura and Jacob Matschenz as Max. The film sits between Single By Contract and This Crazy Heart in Rothemund's filmography, a run that includes Sophie Scholl: The Final Days.

Released in January 2017, the film took about 5 million US dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.1 out of 10 from roughly 6,100 votes, and on TMDB 7.5 out of 10 from around 296 votes. The warmer response from the smaller TMDB group suggests the film lands well with viewers who seek it out.