We live in a time when people with disabilities have
increasingly more opportunities to live a normal life in a society that is
beginning, slowly but surely, to see people for who they are instead of their
means of mobility. People with disabilities have more opportunities than ever
to explore recreation activities that are commonplace among active able-bodied
people but that are just beginning to take root among those with disabilities.
The new documentary film, “Tin Soldiers,” explores some of these forms of
recreation, aiming to bring to light that these activities are for everyone of
all abilities.
![]() |
Alana Nichols |
Director and producer Ben Duffy, has been making documentary
films for nearly a decade. In making his first film, “We Are Skateboarders,” he
learned about an organization teaching kids with disabilities to skate
(Wheeling down the skate ramps in a skate park is the wheelchair equivalent.).
He loved what he saw and made some friends who were also eager to make a film
about skating for people with disabilities. This joining of cinematic forces
interested in skateboarding is where “Tin Soldiers” began, but it turned out to
only be the starting point. Ben and his team wanted to include people doing all
kinds of adaptive recreation. The film not only highlights skating, but also
surfing, triathlons, snow skiing, Crossfit, and powerlifting, to name a few.
Paralympian wheelchair basketball and alpine skiing medalist, Alana Nichols,
serves as the movie’s main star as an adaptive sports
advocate and experienced
athlete. On the other end of the spectrum is 4 year old Abel Rose, born with
spina bifida, who was just 2 years old at the beginning of filming. He has
already participated in a wide range of activities in his young life, and the
film shows that someone born with a disability now has infinite options to make
leading an active life a lifelong goal from the very beginning.
Duffy hopes that the movie challenges conventional thinking
about people with disabilities. For people with disabilities, he hopes that
people will see other people with disabilities doing these activities and will
be encouraged to give them a try. For people without disabilities, he doesn’t
just hope that the movie is inspirational. He has experienced many able-bodied
people shy away from seeing people with disabilities engaging in rigorous,
so-called extreme, activities with the potential to get hurt, but he hopes that
the film will bring a sensibility about these activities, a realization that
people with disabilities are capable of doing much more than some believe, and
acceptance that these activities aren’t as outlandish for people with
disabilities than they are for those without. Most of all, though, Duffy
realizes that so many people don’t have any friends with disabilities, and he
hopes that, through meeting the people in “Tin Soldiers,” people see people
that they want to be friends with, people with fun-loving personalities who
aren’t as different as they might seem.
Filming for “Tin Soldiers” is complete, but they are still
raising money for post-production. Visit their Indiegogo campaign to help and
to watch their trailer at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tin-soldiers-adaptive-sports-documentary#/.
The movie is targeted for screenings by April of 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We would love to hear from you! Please become a member to comment. Thank you!
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.