PLUS: Save the date: August 6, 2024 in San Diego for:

“Stepping Up Together – A Film Event for THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES”

THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES

Photo by Marci Krown – With Permission

Stepping Up Together

– A Film Event for

THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES

Our SJF Communications client, colleague (and friend), Marci Krown, is truly a force! She is a San Diego filmmaker (director/producer), actor and amazing disability awareness advocate. Marci is certainly “stepping up” and going places with her upcoming Krown Family Films feature documentary – THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES!

On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, from 6 pm – 9:30 pm (PST), Krown Family Films will have a film event – “Stepping Up Together – A San Diego Film Event for THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES Documentary” at the Encore Event Center (8253 Ronson Rd., San Diego, CA 92111).

THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES follows the struggles and successes of three people with leg limb loss that are wanting to participate and/or compete in sports.

THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES will showcase that those with leg limb loss have learned that there is life without limits. It will focus on their abilities, not their disabilities. We follow the struggles and successes of these three people that include Carson Fox, a teen wanting to continue to play on his high school’s football team and join his track team; James Dixon of Absolute Motivation whose purpose is to thrive in life and to get others to do the same; and Beatriz Hatz, a Paralympic Athlete aspiring to obtain a spot on her USA Track Team going to the Paris Paralympics.

The main sponsors of the film are befree and Amplitude.

The company befree was started by two women, Nicole Puzzo and Joanne Dicamillo. They’ve developed a product called, “ZipOns”, a functional adaptive clothing solution for those with limited mobility. Joanne stated “We are proud to sponsor and support this amazing documentary about the importance of athletics for amputees and the challenges they face.”

Amplitude is a magazine and newsletter with an incredible resource directory for Amputees. Based in Loveland, Colorado, Larry Borowsky is Editor-in- Chief.
The tag line is “Today’s amputees are living more dynamic lives than ever before. Amplitude tells their stories.“

THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES will also share information from some non-profit organizations that are providing resources to the Amputee Community. Some of these include the Challenged Athlete Foundation (CAF),  Angel City Sports, Move United and the Amputee Coalition.

The crew of the film includes: 

Marci Krown – Director/Producer; Viken Kazandjian – Cinematographer and Jared Tweedie – Editor.

The “Stepping Up Together – A San Diego Film Event for THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES Documentary” event will include appetizers, desserts and beverages, networking and an online silent auction and panel discussion after the film.

Tickets are $60/person – and must be purchased online. The link includes ticket and silent auction bidding information. (Note: You can still bid/donate even if you are not local to San Diego or do not attend)!

WHEN?: Tuesday, August 6, 2024, from 6 pm – 9:30 pm (PST)
WHERE?: Encore Event Center (8253 Ronson Rd., San Diego, CA 92111)
HOW?: Here’s the TICKET LINK: https://new.biddingowl.com/AmputeeSports.

For more information: info@KrownFamilyFilms.com

Here is the Q & A
Susan J Farese and Marci Krown:

SJF: What inspired you to make THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES Documentary?

MK: Back in 1995, I started working  for the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games. Because I had such a love of sports, I wanted to get involved with a sports organization in some facet. Little did I know that this experience would be the best in my life! My perceptions of those who were disabled weren’t accurate. I didn’t really understand how someone that was a leg amputee, had a vision impairment or even was paralyzed, could compete in sports effectively. By the end of the 1 ½ years, I truly embraced the Power of the Human Spirit. I remembered this experience when it came time for me to produce my first Documentary Feature. I did some more research and found that still, non-disabled people had unrealistic views of those with disabilities. And some of those with disabilities are afraid to come out of hiding. In addition, those with disabilities still weren’t aware of all the resources in place for them in which they could thrive. I decided I was going to share some stories and use sport to get people comfortable in understanding those with disabilities better.

SJF: Such amazing insight Marci, thank you for sharing that.

SJF: Who are some of the cast in the film?

MK: Some of the people in the film include a teen boy that lost his leg to cancer and wanting to get back to his high school football team and learn track; a middle-aged man that was born with a congenital limb loss use his loss to find his purpose and help others similar to himself; and the third person is a early 20’s Paralympian who was trying to obtain a spot on her US Track and Field Team going to the 2024 Paris Paralympics in August. In addition, I have non-profit organizations in this story that cater to providing resources to the Amputee Community.

SJF: They all sound like inspiring stories from your cast.

SJF: What do you think were the biggest challenges making this film?

MK: Challenges with the film :  Finding San Diego Amputees that were comfortable sharing their stories to interview. Also, since I started making the film in October 2022, I have lost my Father-in-Law, got Covid, lost my Father, Mother-in-law and got Covid again in June. The challenge of sticking to a timeline feeling exhausted with illness and grief certainly made it difficult. And yet, having this project allowed a distraction for me to focus on and having something to complete. I had to stop several times for a period just to take care of my self and let this project go, which was difficult.

SJF: So much loss and grief as well as experiencing Covid. Yes, self-care is paramount.

SJF: How did you work with your cinematographer to capture the images you wanted?

MK: I must have interviewed over 12 Cinematographers. The one I have now, Viken, stood out due to his artistic endeavors, his ability to film with a specific budget and knowledge of filming a documentary. I had an outline and based on that and with his input on shots, we got the filming done. It was also important to me that we got along as I knew I was in for a long haul in spending days filming. You want to get along with that person, especially since I knew I would be traveling with him to Indiana.

I shot the film in Chula Vista, Orange County and Indiana. Because I had more people to interview in other cities, I couldn’t afford to fly my Cinematographer and myself all over the place. I did end up zooming some interviews because I felt these people were important to the story.

SJF: What lessons have you learned re: the topic of disabled amputee athletes?

MK: What I have learned in my research is that there are more resources than I thought for Amputees. While doing research for the film in deciding who to interview, I came across so many organizations. In the last 1 ½ years, I attended two National Conferences and 6 major sports events for adaptive athletes. It’s really amazing that everyone is on the same page and are looking to provide a better community, more education and a way to improve the health of the adaptive athletes, whether they are children, teens or adults. I’ve also learned more about discrimination of those with disabilities. I’ve also learned that insurance hasn’t provided coverage for a sports prosthetic for Amputees wanting to compete. It has been deemed not medically necessary. There is an organization, So Everybody Can Move, that has helped in getting a grassroot movement going for communities to educate legislation to change this process of providing a covered prosthetic.

SJF: Your commitment and dedication to the topic of disabled amputee athletes is impressive Marci!

SJF: How wide would you like your reach to be with the distribution of this film?

MK: My goal with this film is to share it throughout the United States and some International Countries. In addition to submitting this Documentary to film festivals that specifically deal with films featuring stories of disabled, and sports themes, my goal is to showcase this film in cities that have Adaptive Sports Clubs and Colleges with Adaptive Sports teams and programs. I’d like to be able to have an Educational Distribution, to show to non-profits, government agencies, conferences and corporations. And of course, I’d love to have this film streamed on various platforms. Sports is a great way to introduce adaptive athletes to the community. With the Paralympic Games in just over a month, this film will continue showing people afterwards just how sport has the ability for people to see the “abilities” of Amputees and not their “disabilities”.

SJF: Wishing you the best that your film has lots of distance being screened nationally as well as globally!

SJF: How can we find out more information about Krown Family Films?

MK: Krown Family Films social media sites:

TICKET LINK for Stepping Up Together – A San Diego Film Event for THE POWER OF SPORTS FOR AMPUTEES Documentary: 
CLICK HERE: https://new.biddingowl.com/AmputeeSports.

Krown Family Films website:
CLICK HERE: https://krownfamilyfilms.com

The Power of Sports for Amputees Facebook Group:
CLICK HERE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thepowerofsports

For more info: info@krownfamilyfilms.com

HASHTAGS:

#amputeelife #amputeestrong #adaptivesports #adaptiveathlete #krownfamilyfilms #inclusionmatters #inclusionforall #adaptivesports #diversitymatters #thepowerofsport #paralympicgames #wheelchairbasketball #paris2024 #paralympics  #abilitynotdisability #adaptivetools #adaptivedesign #moveunited #parabadminton #parafencing #disablitymatters #prosthetics #amputeelife #amputeecoalition #adaptiveyoga #inclusionmatters #paralympicathletes  #legprosthetic #disabilityawareness #phantompain #limbloss #LLLDAM #inclusionmatters #prosthetist #thrivetogether #befreeadaptive #adaptivefashion #adaptivefashions #Standupandplay #wethrive #sportsarelife #wheelchairbasketball

Questions? For more info: info@krownfamilyfilms.com

Many thanks Marci, it has been a pleasure learning more about your film!