Event

Shooting Beauty

Emmy nominated filmmaker George Kachadorian brings us the story of Courtney Bent, a twenty-something fashion photographer whose career takes an unexpected turn when she is befriended by a group of people living with severe cerebral palsy and other disabilities. Although most have extremely limited mobility and speech, Courtney soon discovers that their minds are vibrant and keenly observant. When she begins inventing camera systems to allow her new friends access to photography and video, the images that come back draw her into their hidden world of romance and daring, loss and laughter-- and a unique relationship begins that will stretch over a decade. We meet EJ, a self described 'bad dude' who, despite being able to use only his tongue, tackles Boston drivers head-on. Cheryl, a romantic who feels trapped in a body nobody will ever love-- or will they? Tony, who uses his photos as a platform for social change. And Tom, whose breathtaking emergence from a life of near total isolation and despair is a testament to the healing power of art. Courtney and her photographers must overcome physical barriers, a skeptical public, and even death as they work to achieve their dream of creating a traveling public exhibit of their work. Shot over a period of ten years with groundbreaking access to the subjects' internal emotional lives, this film is guaranteed to challenge audiences to rethink what they thought they knew about people living with disabilities-- and what it means to be human.