• Right Footed is about Jessica Cox, a 32 year old Filipino American born without arms as a result of a severe birth defect. She however never allowed herself to believe she could not accomplish her dreams.  She is a martial arts expert with two Taekwondo black belts, a college graduate, and a motivational speaker. She drives her car with her feet and she is the world’s only armless airplane pilot. She is a mentor and the voice of people with disabilities. Fueled by relentless personal drive and strong personal faith, her mission is to tell her story and spread the idea that disability does not mean inability.

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The multi-award winning film won the Best Documentary Award at the just-concluded 2015 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (PAAFF).  The award was announced at the closing reception on November 22, 2015 at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia.  Right Footed was the closing night film of the 2015 PAAFF which opened November 12, 2015. The well-attended closing reception featured the documentary subject Jessica Cox and her husband Patrick Chamberlain at a post film Q&A followed by a free catered reception for all ticket and badge holders. Filipino American and Asian American community leaders were in attendance of the event.

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Right Footed, chronicles Jessica’s amazing story of overcoming adversity and follows her over a period of two years as she becomes a mentor for children with disabilities and their families. She is a disability rights advocate working in the USA and abroad.

She worked with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines including those disabled as a result of their injuries and lobbied Senators in Washington DC for the ratification of a major disability treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Based on the Americans with Disabilities Act, a piece of legislation that directly benefited Jessica when she was growing up, the CRPD represents a once-in-a generation opportunity to extend civil rights to people with disabilities globally.

Right Footed is about the power of human will and examines how much one individual’s life can affect people on a deeper level. It is also a story of the perseverance and fortitude of a Philippine immigrant mother Inez and how she passed that capacity on to her daughter Jessica, who has overcome her limitations beyond her mother’s wildest dreams. Born under circumstances that initially appeared absolutely tragic and heartbreaking, Jessica’s story is also about our ability to heal from a great trauma, and the power of transformation- about how one person was able to convert the greatest disaster that befell her, into one of her greatest assets.

Shot in the USA, Ethiopia, and the Philippines, Right Footed, examines how one woman’s determination and indefatigable effort can produce enormous change both for herself and people all over the world. There are about one billion people world-wide living with disability. Jessica’s journey is a story about the power of faith and strength of will that will challenge the way you think about what it means to be disabled.