Thanks once again to Sundance Channel, I recently had another life-altering experience from a documentary film they chose to program. This time, the film is entitled “Luckey,” it was produced, written and directed by filmmaker Laura Longsworth, and it documents the challenges faced by sculptor Tom Luckey to carry on with his life, his artistry and his business after experiencing a major spinal injury.
Through the course of the narrative, viewers witness the struggles that come to all members of a person’s family with such a major injury. The love shown throughout is extremely touching, and I found myself deeply admiring everyone shown — with special empathy for Tom’s elder son Spencer, who steps up to help his father complete his biggest, most complicated sculpture ever. “Luckey” was completed in 2008, and the sculptural Luckey Climbers project for the Boston Children’s Museum documented in the film appears on the company’s website, along with similarly unique and imaginative constructions for hands-on museums across the country. I invite you to check out the film if you get a chance, and also to visit luckeyclimbers.com to experience one of their projects in your area, or to help get one commissioned.
“Luckey” is Laura Longsworth’s directorial debut, as well as her first film to appear on the Sundance Channel. The majority of Laura’s documentary work has been for PBS television. Among films for the nationally broadcast history series American Experience, Laura produced “Golden Gate Bridge” and “Gold Rush,” which won the Eric Barnouw Prize from the Organization of American Historians for its telling of the chaotic pursuit of wealth in 19th century California. For the public affairs series Frontline, she was associate producer for “Inside Terror Network” (winner of a Columbia-DuPont gold baton) and “Let’s Get Married,” an essay-style documentary about some of America’s poorest citizens. Last year, Laura produced “The People v. Leo Frank,” a film about a young Jewish man who was lynched in Georgia in 1915. Prior to making documentary films, Laura was a reporter at a daily newspaper.
The film’s Facebook group is here. To request a screening of “Luckey,” or to purchase a DVD, please contact
