Bent's tireless dedication to Shooting Beauty is more than a labor of love -- it is a grassroots effort to change the way we look at people with disabilities... [After] more than a decade of personal and professional sacrifice, Bent and [director George] Kachadorian are ready to launch their joint masterpiece...
-New England Film.com
Shooting Beauty tells the inspirational story of an aspiring fashion photographer named Courtney Bent whose career takes an unexpected turn when she discovers a hidden world of beauty at a center for people living with significant disabilities. Shot over the span of a decade, this film puts you in Courtney's shoes as she overcomes her own unspoken prejudices and begins inventing cameras accessible to her new friends. Courtney's efforts snowball into an award-winning photography program called "Picture This"--and become the backdrop for this eye-opening story about romance, loss and laughter that will change what you thought you knew about living with a disability--and without one.
Courtney and her team are raising funds to clear the legal and technical hurdles necessary to distribute the film while developing a SHOOTING BEAUTY curriculum/teacher's guide to bring this project into the school system on a national level. There is also a "How-To" guide in the works to help people of all ability levels create and use adaptive cameras based on Courtney's innovative work.
There are few times in cinema history that one is swept away with a wave of emotions and taken on a journey that is so unique... The films that come to mind; "Elephant Man" "Cinema Paradiso" "Life is Beautiful"... and that is exactly what "Shooting Beauty" does with one exception - it is not scripted…
- Quick Stop Entertainment
"Ground- breaking and motivating... sure to spark an emotional side you never knew you had."
-Scottsdale Chronicle
"an unexpected gem "
- Sam Baltrusis, The Loaded Gun
"an incredible glimpse into the world of living with a disability"
- DisaBOOM.com
"if you’re a teacher of teens I implore you to show this film to your students - it’ll spark a lively discussion and sensitise them to the humanity of those around them. What more could we ask from a film?" -Jett Loe, The Film Talk
