Catching My Breath: The Life & Races of Wheelchair Athlete Ken Thomas

Ken Thomas from Catching My Breath Paralympian Ken Thomas will be a special guest at the Alberta Legislative Assembly on May 14 at 1:30 pm. MLA Laurie Blakeman (Edmonton Centre) will introduce Ken to other MLA’s as a way of celebrating the fact that Ken is the subject of a new documentary entitled CATCHING MY BREATH. This documentary will air on ACCESS on May 15 at 8 pm.

CATCHING MY BREATH, profiles the life and races of Ken Thomas, and his determination to participate in the World Masters Games as a disabled athlete. Ken races in a wheelchair, backwards! There’s a Rocky-style, underdog sports story imbedded in the film, but it is also about Ken’s life-long fight for inclusion and independence as a person with a physical disability. Independent filmmaker Lorna Thomas produced and directed the film, using photographs, archival film footage, and narrative commentary to paint an intimate portrait of her brother Ken. Three storylines are interwoven in the film.

CATCHING MY BREATH shares Ken’s experience of training and competing internationally as a team member of the Alberta and Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Associations in the 1980s and 90s. The film also recounts the advocacy Ken and his family have engaged in over the past 56 years, as they fight for education, accessible housing, and home care. But Catching My Breath is not just a retrospective. We see Ken today as he works as a dedicated volunteer, living an independent life with the help of a close-knit support system of family, friends and caregivers. What drives this film forward is Ken’s fight to compete one last time in an international track competition.

ALBERTA PRIMETIME INTERVIEWKen and Lorna will be interviewed on May 15 on Alberta Primetime at 7:00 pm (MST) on ACCESS TV, prior to the broadcast of the documentary also on ACCESS TV at 8pm MST (Channel 13, Cable 13 Calgary | Channel 9, Cable 9 Edmonton & Red Deer | Cable 13 Lethbridge | Start Choice 351 | Express Vu 267)

Lorna Thomas, Ken Thomas and Brandy Yanchyk on Alberta Primetime on May 15, 2009

CATCHING MY BREATH was produced and developed in association with CLT and SCN with the participation of The Government of Canada—Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund/Canadian Heritage; The Government of Alberta—Alberta Film Development Program; Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association/CFCN Mentorship Program; and The Government of Canada—Canadian Film or Video Tax Credit Program
© 2008 Lorna Thomas Productions Inc.

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