"A Friend Indeed - The Bill Sackter Story" had a three day screening at the Englert Theater in Iowa City on October 1, 4, & 5.
Lane Wyrick attended all three screenings with Q&A afterwards, and Tom Walz also provided insight to the appreciative crowd. There were several people that were in the documentary that were able to see "A Friend Indeed" for the first time.
Citizen Advocates shows Bill documentary
On October 16, Wyrick presented the documentary to Citizen Advocates of Washington County, in West Bend, Wisconsin. Mark Brunner, President of Citizen Advocates had planned the screening for several months, which was held during their annual meeting and recognition banquet at West Bend - A Mutual Insurance Company's brand new conference facilities.
Projected simultaneously on two screens, the documentary was especially relevant, as the mission of Citizen Advocates is to find people in the community to be partnered with a person with disabilities, and the story of Barry and Bill resonated with the audience. Brunner was so pleased with the way that the documentary communicated the purposes of their organization, that he has already planned for another screening on March 28, 2009 where Wyrick will again be present to screen the film.
The Arc's National Convention in Albuquerque
Wyrick flew to Albuquerque to present the documentary to The Arc's National Convention on November 6. This is the largest Arc meeting held annually, and Wyrick spoke and presented "A Friend Indeed - The Bill Sackter Story" in its entirety.
People from Arc organizations from around the country heard about the documentary for the first time, and it gave new meaning to their "National Bill Sackter Award" which was presented the following evening...now they know the real Bill Sackter.
This national event also marked the beginning of the availability of the documentary for Public Screenings and Filmmaker Presentations.
Wyrick also met with Geraldo Rivera who was giving the keynote address for the convention. While Rivera had to leave before the documentary presentation, Wyrick was able to give him a copy of the Bill Sackter DVD...maybe sometime he will see it with encouragement from someone out there who has seen the documentary and knows Geraldo. : )
The DVD creation is beginning...
It is now mid-December, and I am starting the process of gathering the vast amount of extra footage/deleted scenes, photos, and a huge variety of material that will be on the DVD (along with the award-winning documentary).
This DVD will be completed in the future - the date is not set, but if you would like to be notified when the DVD is released, please go to the Buy The DVD link at the BillSackter.com website.
Upcoming Screenings
There will be a very special screening of "A Friend Indeed" in Salt Lake City on January 17, which will also commemorate the 20th Anniversary of "Rain Man". Both Wyrick and Barry Morrow (who wrote the screenplay for "Rain Man", and was Bill Sackter's legal guardian) will be at the event. Also, the event will honor Kim Peek, who Barry modeled the character that Dustin Hoffman played in the movie.
Also, on January 7, there will be a screening at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
To see what future screenings are coming, please go to Upcoming Screenings at the BillSackter.com website.
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