Our project is fiscally sponsored by the International
Documentary Association (IDA)
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 Donations made in
support of the film
are tax deductible
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On February 11th, we'll be launching a new fundraising campaign on the website Indiegogo. Indiegogo is a partner of the IDA.
we'll
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We'll
be sending a reminder on February 11th about the new campaign, and hope
that you'll share it and our exciting new video trailer with your
family and friends.
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2012 RECAP & EXCITING NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN 2013
Posted 01/22/13
Greetings from
Nick Spark, director and producer of "Rightfooted". For those of you
who don't know about my new project, it's a documentary about a truly
amazing and inspirational woman named Jessica Cox who, although born
without arms, earned her pilot's license. She now works around the
world to educate, motivate, and change things for the alternately-abled.
Thanks to all of those who helped us in 2012 -- without your support this film simply would not be possible that's for sure.
2012 was an
incredibly eventful and surprising year for Jessica and our production.
But before I recap that, I want to let you know that the first few
months of 2013 will be critical for us! Breaking news, Jessica has had an amazing opportunity drop
into her lap. In April, she's been invited to travel to Ethiopia under
the auspices of Handicap International -- an affiliate of the Nobel
Prize winning NGO. Jessica will be working with alternately-abled
children and trying to help re-shape perceptions in the society-at-large
— a society where disabled children have few prospects and rarely
receive an education. This trip represents a new new level of action
for Jessica, and could be the heart of our film. In order to make the
trip possible and to film it, we'll be launching a fundraising campaign
on crowdsourcing site Indiegogo starting February 11th. The link (not active until Feb. 11th) will be:
Please make a
note of it on your calendars and share with friends when it goes live.
Part of the campaign includes a wonderful new video about Jessica that
we know you'll want to share with friends.
Now, 2012 was a
busy and rewarding time for our filmmaking team, and a wonderful year
for Jessica. Not only did she tie the knot with fiancé Patrick in May,
but in November she received a Susan G. Komen Inspiration Award. Wow!
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Inspiring Journeys in 2012
Posted 01/18/13
Keeping up with Jessica Cox isn’t easy! Not only did she tie the knot
with fiancé Patrick in May, but in November she received a Susan G.
Komen Inspiration Award (see photo above). Detailing these events I'll
leave for the film. What I do want to share with you, as an example of
what we documented this year, is a trip we took to America's heartland.
It was in fact a trip to Iowa. In a small rural town, we filmed
Jessica’s visit with a family whose 4-year-old daughter Grace was born
(like Jessica) without arms. For Grace, who had been watching videos of
Jessica on Youtube since she was two, Jessica’s appearance in her house
was nothing short of a miracle. The two bonded quickly as you can
imagine, and Gracie proudly showed off her new friend to her assembled
brothers, sisters and cousin. But while Jessica’s visit was clearly
important to Grace, it was her quiet, confident counseling of parents
Greg and Patricia that really made the trip worthwhile. “What I am
seeing is that Gracie is fine,” Jessica told us. “But her parents
needed to see and hear directly from me that despite having no arms, she
can do anything she wants and she really doesn’t have many limits
compared to any other four-year-old. She has a bright future and I
think they just need to be reassured about that.” As part of the
visit Jessica visited Grace's school, where she gave a presentation to
the entire student body. It was obvious from the reception -- the
students gave Jessica their undivided attention which for elementary
students is a real achievement -- that she made an impression. I
imagine the visit will pay dividends in their future lives, and
certainly affect their treatment of fellow student Gracie.
Photos: Jessica first meets Gracie (l), and spends some personal time with her (r).
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We coordinated our visit to Iowa with a special event in nearby Kansas
City called “Challenge Air”. Founded by former fighter pilot Rick
Amber, who lost the use of his legs in an aviation accident on the USS
Hancock, Challenge Air’s mission is to allow children with physical and
other challenges and to see the world from a different perspective –
from above. Jessica joined a fantastic group of volunteer pilots who
took dozens of children flying. One of them was Grace, who had the
distinction of going up in a twin-engine airplane piloted by Austen
Plain with Jessica in the co-pilot’s seat. We had no idea how Grace
would react to going up in an airplane for the first time. Would all
the noise and the sight of the ground dropping away frighten her, or
heaven forbid would she panic or get airsick? As it turned out, none of
the above: Grace seemed to love her time in the air, and once back
down on terra firma headed off to the computer flight simulator table.
Following Jessica’s lead, she took the stick in her feet and started
flying.
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This is just a short preview of one part of our film, but I think it
gives insight into the project’s purpose and course. Jessica is making a
difference all the time, sometimes with just one individual, sometimes
with groups of people, and we’re grateful to be there documenting her
efforts. In the coming weeks we’re going to make an important
announcement about a major opportunity both for Jessica and the film,
and I hope you’ll be able to help spread the word and make it possible
for us to continue what so far, has been a wonderful journey.
Thanks again for all your encouragement, support, and for helping spread the word. — Nick Spark
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