The multi-award winning, feature documentary Right Footed tells
the story of Jessica Cox, a 29-year-old woman with a disability who, over the
course of the film, transforms from a speaker and mentor into a disability
rights activist and leader working on a global level. Despite a childhood full
of enormous mental and physical challenges, we see how a young Jessica earned a
college degree and two Taekwondo black belts, learned to drive a car and,
incredibly, became the first person in the world to pilot a plane — using her
feet. Jessica’s achievements launch her career as a public speaker and, as the
film begins, we see her begin to mentor children with disabilities. Fueled by
relentless personal drive and strong personal faith, her mission is to tell her
story and spread the idea that ‘disability does not mean inability’. We see her
mentoring children with disabilities and their families in ways that are
beautiful, moving and effective. Soon an important opportunity presents itself,
as Nobel Prize winning NGO Handicap International invites her to visit Ethiopia
to promote inclusion of people with disabilities, especially in schools.
Ethiopia is a place where those born with a disability are marginalized, denied
an education, and viewed as cursed. Jessica appears in the media and does her
best to debunk these beliefs, and works one-on-one with children to encourage
them to attend school. After returning from Africa, Jessica begins to wonder
whether she might make a larger impact through political advocacy. She questions
how much love and personal connection can really achieve. How many people do you
have to touch to really change the world?
Despite a previous disinterest in politics, Jessica transforms herself into a
disability advocate — working with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in the
Philippines, including those disabled as a result of their injuries, and
lobbying Senators in Washington D.C. for ratification of a major disability
treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Based
on the Americans With Disabilities Act, a piece of legislation that directly
benefited Jessica when she was growing up, the CRPD represents a
once-in-a-generation opportunity to extend civil rights to people with
disabilties globally.
The documentary is both a portrait of Jessica’s unexpected journey as she
becomes a disability activist and a very personal story — spanning more than
two-and-a-half years of her life during which time she gets married and begins a
new life with her husband Patrick while also taking care of her mother Inez who
is stricken with cancer. The film also reveals much about Jessica’s religious
faith and the reasons that she does not see herself as a victim of her
condition.
Right Footed is about the power of human will, and examines how
much one individual’s life can affect people on a deeper level. It is also story
about perseverance — the perseverance and fortitude of Philippine immigrant
mother Inez and how she passed that capacity on to her daughter Jessica, who has
overcome her limitations beyond her mother’s wildest dreams. Born under
circumstances that initially appeared absolutely tragic and heartbreaking,
Jessica’s story is also about our ability to heal from a great trauma, and the
power of transformation — about how one person was able to convert the greatest
disaster that befell her, into one of her greatest assets.
Shot in the USA, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. Right Footed examines how one
woman’s determination and indefatigable effort can produce enormous change both
for herself and people all over the world; worldwide more than one billion
people are living with a disability. Jessica’s journey is a story about the
power of faith and strength of will that will challenge the way you think about
what it means to be ‘disabled’.
$49.95
