Raising Matty Christian makes Canton debut at MHS

Following a successful six-month run on the U.S. film festival circuit, the award-winning and critically acclaimed documentary Raising Matty Christian will make its Canton debut at a special screening and fundraiser next Thursday evening, November 13, at the Massachusetts Hospital School.

The event, which starts at 6 p.m. in the MHS Auditorium, will feature a pre-movie reception with director Christian DeRezendes and assorted cast members, followed by the screening at 7:15 p.m. Tickets will be sold in advance for $20 each, and all proceeds will benefit the Mass. Hospital School.

Directed, filmed and edited by Rhode Island filmmaker de Rezendes, the new feature-length film celebrates the life and legacy of Canton’s own Matthew G. Christian — a beloved son, brother and friend who overcame physical disabilities to become a world-class athlete and an inspiration to all who knew him. (Click here to watch the trailer.)

Drawing on archival footage from Christian family home movies, as well as interviews from Matty’s family, friends, neighbors and mentors, Raising Matty Christian documents the challenges that Matty faced in navigating the world with four partial limbs and how his parents, Allie and Jerry, “raised him,” according to de Rezendes, “to face his challenges head on and the inspiring achievements that followed as a result.”

Partly a coming of age tale, the film captures Matty’s development as a young man and his quest for an ordinary life amid extraordinary circumstances. The film also delves into Matty’s personal struggles and the circumstances surrounding his tragic death in 2009 — adding a level of gravity and honesty to a film that critic Phil Hall has characterized as a “work of art” and “one of the most profoundly moving nonfiction films I have ever seen.”

“This work needs to be seen, talked up, cherished and honored,” writes Hall in his five-star review for Film Threat. “I am truly in awe of Matty’s life and of this inspirational record of his time on Earth.”

Richard Propes also raved about the film in his review for The Independent Critic, calling it a “fully developed and lovingly realized portrait of one young man’s life and how it continues to inspire those around him.”

“Raising Matty Christian isn’t just Matty’s story,” writes Propes, “but it’s also the story of the family that raised him and the friends who loved him and the community that continues to embrace both his strengths and weaknesses, joys and sorrows.”

Although still in search of a distributor, the film to date has been selected for 13 film festivals and has won six awards, including the Audience Award for “Best of the Fest” at the Woods Hole Film Festival and the Best Documentary Feature Award at the SENE Film, Music & Arts Festival. Just last month, the film picked up a Human Spirit Award at the fifth annual Chagrin Documentary Film Festival in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and its next stop is the River’s Edge Film Festival in Paducah, Kentucky, tomorrow and Saturday, November 7 and 8.

De Rezendes, who owns Breaking Branches Pictures, said he has been thrilled by the response to the film thus far and the impact it has had on audiences throughout the country.

“We knew it was a powerful story, and we’ve been delighted ever since earlier this year when it first opened at the Arizona International Film Festival that it was as well received as it was,” he said. “The film and Matty’s story, the footage, everybody that contributed their story really brought Matty to life and the story really connected with people across so many states.”

As for the upcoming Canton screening, de Rezendes said it was always his goal to bring it back to Matty’s hometown after it had achieved success elsewhere — after they had “shown the world that people are really moved by Matty’s story.”

De Rezendes said he is equally excited to be screening the film at the Mass. Hospital School, where Matty trained to become a record-breaking swimmer and where he later spent several summers as a camp counselor.

“It will be emotional on a ton of different levels,” de Rezendes said. “We’re very honored that [MHS] is hosting it and we’re very honored that we’re able to help them out.”

Tickets to the Canton screening of Raising Matty Christian are currently on sale at MHS, Republic Plumbing Supply in Norwood, and Foleys’ Backstreet Grille in Stoughton. To purchase tickets online or for more information about the film, go to www.raisingmattychristian.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=27430

Posted by Jay Turner on Nov 6 2014. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.