''Right Footed'' is a documentary about

Jessica Cox Jessica Cox (born 1983 in Arizona) is the world's first licensed armless pilot, as well as the first armless black-belt in the American Taekwondo Association.

directed by

Nick T. Spark Nick T. Spark is an American documentary filmmaker and writer. Films he has written, directed or produced include '' Regulus: The First Nuclear Missile Submarines'' (2001) the Emmy award-winning ''The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom ...

and produced by

and

Mona Lisa Yuchengco Mona Lisa Yuchengco is a Filipino-American community activist, publisher and filmmaker. She was born in Manila, Philippines and moved to San Francisco in 1982 with her two sons. Yuchengco graduated from Assumption College with degrees in Liberal Ar ...

. Cox was born without arms but has learned to live a fulfilling life including getting married, earning two black belts and becoming the first person without arms to fly an airplane. The film follows Cox as she begins new roles as a mentor and disability rights advocate. She visits both

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

on behalf of Handicap International to help people with disabilities, and advocates for the adoption of the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, ...

in the

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. The film also follows her personal life as Cox is shown supporting her mother Inez as she battles

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, beginning her married life with her husband Patrick Chamberlain, and mentoring children with disabilities in the United States and abroad.

Funding and support

''Right Footed'' was fiscally sponsored by the

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

and also affiliated with the Creative Visions Foundation, Handicap International USA and Filipino broadcaster

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

. Financial support for the film came primarily from individual donations. Two Indiegogo campaigns collected over $60,000.

Film festivals

''Right Footed'' premiered at the 2015 Mirabile Dictu Film Festival, known as the "Catholic Academy Awards", at the Vatican City, Rome, where it won the "Best Documentary" honor. The 2015 EAA AirVenture airshow was the venue for the US premiere. The film has also been part of the official selection at over 50 other film festivals in the United States and Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America including: * Portland Film Festival * DOCUTAH * Cleveland International Film Festival * Manchester International Film Festival * Cincinnati Film FestivalRight Footed Facebook Events
Retrieved 21 August 2015. * Offshoot Film Festival * Newburyport Documentary Film Festival * Catalina Film Festival * New Jersey Film Festival * Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival * Kansas International Film Festival * Napa Valley Film Festival * Awareness Film Festival * Hollywood Film Festival * Heartland Film Festival * The Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity * The Taiwan Disability Film Festival

Awards and honors

''Right Footed'' won 17 awards in film festival competition including "Best Social Action Film 2015" at the Hollywood Film Festival. It also won the "Best Documentary" honor at the Mirabile Dictu film festival, the International Film Festival Manhattan, the Beloit International Film Festival, the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, and the Offshoot Film Festival. It received the "Audience Award" at the Awareness Film Festival, the Atlanta DocuFest, the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival, the Kansas International Film Festival, and the Beloit "Year Round" Film Festival. It also received the Spotlight Documentary Film Platinum Award. The film also received a Certificate of Merit at the Catalina Film Festival. It was nominated for competition at the Napa Valley Film Festival.Frazier, Kelsey. (11 August 2015)
2015 NVFF ANNOUNCES NARRATIVE AND DOCUMENTARY FILMS IN COMPETITIONNapa Valley Film Festival
Retrieved 21 August 2015 The film was also selected for the

American Film Program The American Film Program is a Cultural Exchange Program provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Purpose The American Film Program singles out those videos that it views reflect core American pri ...

's Documentary Film Showcase operated by the U.S. Department of State and the University of Southern California.

iTunes and DVD release

On October 5, 2016 it was announced that "Right Footed" would be released on DVD for private home use and through Brainstorm Media on iTunes in the United States on November 1, 2016, and that an educational version would be made available through

Kanopy Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform for public and academic libraries that offers films, TV shows and documentaries. The service is free for users, but content owners and content creators are paid on a pay-per-view model by the in ...

. The DVD features an additional 25 minutes of video material including deleted scenes, a commentary track with

Jessica Cox Jessica Cox (born 1983 in Arizona) is the world's first licensed armless pilot, as well as the first armless black-belt in the American Taekwondo Association.

, and is closed captioned in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

Release on National Geographic

On February 2, 2017 it was announced that a 55-minute version of "Right Footed" would be released on the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...

networks on six continents, in 83 individual countries around the world.

Release on Fuse TV

On March 8, 2017 it was announced that the 82-minute, film festival version of "Right Footed" would be released on the

Fuse (TV channel) Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting multic ...

in the United States as part of the network's "They Have a Dream" series of documentary films. Fuse later announced that the premiere screening would take place on May 20, 2017.

American Film Showcase

"Right Footed" screened in Europe, Africa and Asia as part of the American Film Showcase (also known as the

), a cultural exchange program operated by the U.S. Department of State’s

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries around the world. It is responsible for the Un ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Critical reaction and reviews

The film earned an "all ages" review by the Dove Foundation and was awarded five Doves, the highest possible rating. It also earned high marks from Common Sense Media receiving a rating of "highly recommended" and the Common Sense Seal indicating that it is "great for families". Booklist gave the film a starred review and noted that "teens will be awed by Cox’s courage and accomplishments." The Independent Critic gave the film an A- and noted that "''Right Footed'' is the kind of film that will appeal to your heart and your mind and your faith in humanity. It's the kind of film you'll watch, you'll watch again and then you'll simply have to share it.".The Independent Critic
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References

External links

''Right Footed'' official website

Jessica Cox's website
* {{IMDb title, 4178020 Documentary films about people with disability Documentary films about children with disability Documentary films about sportspeople with disability American sports documentary films Crowdfunded films 2015 films Middle school films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films