Monday,
February 25 at 7pm
Reelblack
Darius
Goes West
dir.
Logan Smalley, US, 2007, DVD, 92 mins, color
Co-presented
by Rolling
Out Weekly WURD-AM Radio and LW Farmbry and Associates and
Scribe Video Center
 Where
would you go if you’d never been away from home? What would
you do if you didn’t have much time left? DARIUS WENT WEST!
15-year-old Darius Weems from Athens, Georgia, was born with
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), the most common fatal genetic
disorder to affect children worldwide. In 1999, he watched his
beloved older brother Mario pass away from the same disease
at age 19. Soon after, Darius lost use of the muscles in his
legs and had to begin using a wheelchair.
A
group of Darius’ friends decided there was no need for his quality
of life to disintegrate along with his muscles. In the summer
of 2005 in a wheelchair-accessible RV, Darius, who had never
seen mountains, the ocean or even crossed the state line, went
on the adventure of a lifetime. The ultimate goal of their 7,000-mile
cross-country journey was to reach Los Angeles and convince
MTV’s hit show “Pimp My Ride” to customize Darius’s wheelchair.
Along the way, they evaluated wheelchair accessibility in America,
celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) and raised awareness of DMD – particularly among a
generation not familiar with Jerry Lewis and the MD Telethon.
They also found joy, brotherhood and the knowledge that life,
even when imperfect, is always worth the ride.
Darius
Goes West has won
awards at over a dozen festivals and received National attention
on ABC’s Nightline and NBC’s The Today Show.
Funds from a special raffle the night of the screening will
be donated to Charley’s Fund (www.charleysfund.org)
for DMD research in hopes of finding treatment or a cure for
this disease.
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