Well today I’ve accomplished something that I thought I would never happen. After 11 months, I am officially done shooting the Wheelchair Chronicles. It’s been an unbelievable 11 months for me (well, the last couple of years have been unbelievable) working on this film. I still remember the day I put together the original concept for this film, I still remember showing my friend Lindsay Davis my ideas about the film and I remember when I completely abandoned this film all together and I remember my friend Shumaila Rafiq encouraging me to work on my film again. I’ve had many ups and downs about this film and I couldn’t be happier than I am now.
I really enjoyed capturing footage of (the best city in the world) Chicago. I got a chance to find out what my city was all about, more particularly how it affected me in my wheelchair. In the area that I live in (Lincoln Park/Old Town) I’ve had to deal with a lot of issues trying to capture film footage. One of the main problems was construction that forced me many time ride my wheelchair in the streets. Another issue was weather related. When you live in a city like Chicago (or any major city) you have to deal with snow and during my 11 months of filming I dealt with those issues but you know what, it made for a great experience and that’s what I take from my months of filming.
Now that I’m done filming it’s now time for the next chapter of this film and that’s editing, marketing, promoting and creating the vision for this film. What I mean by vision is that I have to find people who I can share my vision with and are on the same page with me and have the same enthusiasm that I have for the film. That means I have to find the right editor that can put the all the pieces of my film and create one complete puzzle. I need to find the right music that complements my vision and finding that is gonna be a grueling search. I also have to put together a personal marketing team that can help promote the film.
I’m learning that if I don’t have the right people in place, it could ruin my film and I can’t afford to let that happen so my choices are really important. I’m getting ready to start the next chapter of the Wheelchair Chronicles and I want to thank everyone for their support of me and my film. You don’t how much your support means to me and I appreciate each and every one of you. Sometime next year, my film will be showed at different film festivals across this U.S., Canada and even Europe, Australia, China, Japan so be on the look out.
Justin
Justin's Wheelchair Chronicles 