Darius Weems:
Daniel Epting:
John Harmon:
Sam Johnson:
Ben Smalley:
Andrew Carson:
Jason Hess:
Kevin Wier:
Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life
Information:
[DARIU] | 2006 | 94 min | Feature Documentary
Directed by: Logan Smalley
(Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life)USA
New York Premiere
Interests: Documentary, Road Trip
Official Website
Cast & Credits
Synopsis
Darius, a 15-year-old with muscular dystrophy, has never been outside of Georgia, until his 11 closest friends rent an RV and take off across the country, hoping to convince MTV's Pimp My Ride to work on his wheelchair and raise awareness about the disease. On their long adventure they learn that life, even when imperfect, is always worth the ride. Ages 14+ T4TEENS
+About The Director
LOGAN SMALLEY, 24, was born in Ithaca, New York, and grew up in Athens, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2006 with a degree in Special Education. At age 13, Smalley had volunteered at Project REACH, a summer camp for children with special needs, which is where he met Darius. At the time, Darius was still fully mobile. It was not until years later, when Smalley was watching MTV’s automotive makeover show, Pimp My Ride, that he came up with an idea: if they could spruce up old vans and beat-up cars, why not Darius’s wheelchair? In 2004, Smalley completed a 12-week study abroad program at the Cannes Film Festival. He plays piano, harmonica and the musical saw, and composed the music for first feature film, Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life
+Director Statement
In 2000, Darius Weems lost his beloved older brother to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the number one genetic killer of children worldwide. I was 17 at the time and had known Mario for years. Just before he died, Mario asked me to look after Darius, who also had DMD. I had no clue what this promise meant until I found myself directing Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life. This is my first feature film. I am a recent graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in Special Education. My college experience left me with no clue on how we would fund the trip or the subsequent documentary. So, we turned to our community for help. My hometown, Athens, GA, rallied around the cause. We also had huge success online selling credits ($10 and up) that appear at the end of our film. This grassroots support, combined with grant money from several agencies and a few private donations, enabled us to finance this project, and we are grateful to all those who supported us.
Darius Goes West is a movie about ability, not disability. And we took this trip to celebrate, not save, Darius's life. This movie is Darius's legacy, and his dream is that it will not only raise awareness of DMD, but raise sufficient funds to provide treatment or a cure for the generation of children with DMD who follow in his footsteps.
