Darius Goes West (2007)

Darius Weems, a 15-year-old with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, had never left his hometown of Athens, Georgia. In the summer of 2005, he and a group of young college students traveled across the country in a wheelchair-accessible RV to test accessibility in the United States. Their ultimate goal was to reach Los Angeles and convince MTV's hit show, "Pimp My Ride," to customize Darius's wheelchair. Along the way, they found joy, brotherhood, and the knowledge that life, even when imperfect, is always worth the ride.

개봉일
2007-12-01
TMDB
8.0 / 10 (1)
상영 시간(분)
1시간 32분
장르
다큐멘터리

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  • 제작비: US$6만

Darius Goes West: The Roll of his Life is a documentary film by Logan Smalley about Darius Weems, a teenager living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In the middle of 2005 Weems embarked on a 7,000 mile road trip across the United States from his hometown in Georgia to MTV Headquarters in Los Angeles to ask them to customize his wheelchair on Pimp My Ride, as well to promote awareness of the fatal disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and to raise money for research into a cure.

Background

Logan Smalley was a counselor at a 'Project REACH' camp, a facility set up to give the experiences of being at camp to children with disabilities, when he met Darius Weems. He had first met Darius' brother Mario, who was himself suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Mario asked Logan to "look out for my little brother," and Logan took that promise to heart.

After reading a copy of a letter Darius had sent to MTV's show Pimp My Ride in which he asked them to consider refurbishing his wheelchair, Smalley organized a cross-country trip for Darius to Los Angeles, which became known as the Darius Goes West Project. After having previously been to the Cannes Film Festival, Smalley recognized the opportunity and importance of documenting the trip. The 7,000 mile, 25-day trip resulted in 300 hours of video.

According to DVD Talk, "including Weems, over half of the documentary team was under the age of 20, including Smalley's younger brother Ben, 18. The oldest person on the crew was Daniel Epting, 24. The group not only handled the camera and sound equipment, they cared for Weems, helping him with day-to-day tasks like using the bathroom."

The documentary was dedicated to Darius's brother, Mario, who also had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Mario died at age 19 in 1991.

위키백과에서 더 읽기 · 텍스트 출처: 위키백과, CC BY-SA 4.0. 데이터 출처: Wikidata.

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