TOLEDO – It was August last year when Ansley Hendrix got some exciting news.
“My mom was driving me home from the grocery store,” Hendrix recalled. “My twin sister, Maddie, sent me this post on Facebook from the National Federation of the Blind that said there was a casting call looking for a blind actress to star in a movie.”
Hendrix, 29, who recently moved from Atlanta to Charleston, S.C., was told the movie Strange Shapes would be filmed in Toledo, where she had never been.
“It was so incredibly fast how it all happened,” Hendrix said. “Of course, I had to do it. I auditioned with a self tape and enlisted the help of my friend Will from high school theater and found out I had a chemistry read. I ended up booking the role on that call. My family and I screamed like crazy people!”
Hendrix, who is legally blind, is a singer, dancer and songwriter. She made her musical theater debut at age 12 in Little Red Riding Hood – The Musical and has since appeared in The Sound of Music, Once on This Island, and Little Shop of Horrors.
“I was 12 when I was introduced to the musical Wicked by my best friend in middle school and I never looked back,” Hendrix said. “I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. My twin sister is an opera singer with the most gorgeous soprano voice you’ve ever heard.”
Getting the movie started
Strange Shapes tells the story of a blind woman who searches for her missing guide dog and begins to see unsettling entities that stalk her through the night.
The movie was filmed over 14 days from the end of September through mid-October in 2025. Locations included Glenwood Lutheran Church near the Toledo Museum of Art, around the shops in downtown Sylvania, and inside a residence in the Washington Local school district.
Timebomb Productions was the official studio behind the movie, in association with RAW Studios of Toledo. Samantha Ryan, an assistant director on the movie, is the CEO of RAW Studios, which specializes in the logistical side of creating cinema and photography services.
Strange Shapes was written, produced and directed by James Aponte.
“I met James through a recommendation from Film Commissioner Michael DeSanto,” said Ryan, 32, who lives just west of Toledo. “James was looking for a producer with experience in low-budget film making. Once we met, we knew we would make great business partners and could work together to bring Strange Shapes to life.”
Hendrix’s character, Violet, is the lead in the 70-minute horror film. Ryan said Hendrix nailed the part.
“We began our search through the Sight Center, which ultimately connected us with the National Federation of the Blind,” Ryan said. “Ansley submitted her experience and a tape for consideration, and we knew almost immediately she was perfect for the role of Violet.
“Ansley stepped right in and was an absolute shining light,” Ryan added. “The first scene we shot with her was a confrontation between Violet and Oscar, played by Justin Hogan, and she absolutely blew me away. She brought so much authenticity and emotion to the character right from the beginning.”
Hendrix said she arrived in Toledo a week before production started “to get the layout of my host family’s house and the Toledo Talent headquarters that acted as our rehearsal space.”
“I absolutely love Toledo,” she said. “There is such wonderful culture, and the people are so kind.”
Ryan said what she loves most about Strange Shapes is the opportunity she got to meet and work with Hendrix.
“It was incredibly enlightening to work with such a remarkable person and to learn how we could make the filmmaking process more accessible for her, while also showing the world what authentic representation can look like,” Ryan said. “Working with Ansley has been a really meaningful experience for me, both professionally and personally.”
Toledo-area native writer/producer/director
Aponte, 33, a Sylvania Northview graduate, majored in film and video at The University of Toledo. He said he began writing the Strange Shapes script in October of 2024 and finished in March of 2025.
“Looking back, I can say I was definitely influenced by The Evil Dead films, the Alien movie franchise, and Halloween (1978),” Aponte said. “I originally wanted to be a writer. When the Alien quadrilogy was released, I made a life-changing discovery: I learned that James Cameron was not only the director of Aliens, but he was the writer as well.
“Suddenly, everything changed. I thought, ‘Wait, I can make what I write real? I’m going to do that!’ I’ve wanted to be a filmmaker ever since eighth grade.”
Aponte said he got the idea for Strange Shapes after watching a blind YouTuber who was asked, if he could have surgery that would enable him to see, would he go through with it?
“That question made me put myself in his shoes,” Aponte said. “I concluded that if I had been blind since birth, the ability to suddenly see would be one of the most terrifying experiences I could imagine. It would completely change my interaction with and perception of the world.
“Then I thought, ‘What if I was blind from birth and suddenly saw something that was truly terrifying? And what if that was the only thing I could see?’ And so, Strange Shapes was born to explore this unsettling scenario.”
Aponte has done several short films that can be viewed on his website, jamesaponte.com. He said he is “immensely proud” of Strange Shapes.
“Everyone’s talent and skill that was poured into this film really shines through, and that’s always something to be proud of,” Aponte said. “It’s hard making movies. To make one, especially at the ultra indie level, is an accomplishment anyone should be proud of.”
Facing challenges as a legally blind performer
Hendrix was asked how she has faced and overcome being blind as a member of the show business profession.
“As a blind person, particularly in the visual performing arts like acting and dance, I face a lot of challenges,” Hendrix said. “Mainly with people understanding and accepting me in an industry that is often perceived as visual.
“I loved this movie because it showed a side of blindness that people don’t get to see. We are so often portrayed as disabled people who need help, but we are strong, independent individuals who are perfectly capable of living successful lives.”
Strange Shapes premieres at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:45 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Maumee Indoor Theater, with a cast/producer Q&A to follow. It will continue playing on the remaining Fridays in October. The one minute, 15-second movie trailer can be seen here.
