Ski fans have been enjoying movies by the pioneering snow sport documentarian Warren Miller for decades. Now Miller’s son Kurt, of Niwot, Colo., is filming sports-themed documentaries with a new purpose: to show injured veterans and other people with disabilities participating in adaptive sports. Kurt Miller’s non-profit, Make A Hero, has a Wounded Military Fighter’s Fund that’s currently raising donations to buy a service dog for former Army Corporal Jesse Murphree of Westminster, Colo., who underwent 58 surgeries and lost his both legs after an injury in Afghanistan in 2007.
They’ve raised about $3,500 toward the goal of $6,000 to pay for Jasper, a 2-year-old German shepherd the trainer has already given Murphree on credit. Murphree told Whitney Bryen of the Longmont Times-Call, “I have a partner. It’s the same idea as having a battle buddy in the field watching your back.”
In exchange for providing Murphree with Jasper, the folks at Make A Hero made one request of him: to star in their new film, the water-sports themed The Current. “I’m not really a water guy,” Murphree told Bryen, “but when they asked if I wanted a free trip to Mexico, I figured why not.” In the film, Murphree learns how to scuba dive. Off-screen, he proposed to his girlfriend while in Mexico. The film debuted at the Boulder International Film Festival on Sunday, with the aim to raise the additional donations needed to pay for Jasper. We have a good feeling that they’ll meet their goal.
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