Sean Patrick Fahey Produces Award Winning Documentary! The Tractor Builder screened at the 2007 Chicago International Film Festival in the Homegrown Series. The Homegrown Series is set up to showcase local talent to a global audience. Of the seven films screened as part of the Homegrown Series, Tractor Builder was one of only two Documentaries chosen.
Tom Karl is a true innovator, born with Muscular Dystrophy and put into a wheel chair at a very young age, he never let his disability get the better of him. In his quest for mobility, Tom has designed and built a tractor that he can operate with only the use of his head and right hand.
"The Tractor Builder" was shot over three, 15-hour days, with a group of five crewmembers, in Peoria, IL. Jeremiah Hammerling came out as videographer for the talking head interviews, Andy Patch and Tom Clayton offered their cinematographic expertise with the help of Lisa Clausen (AC), Jeremy Frye (AC), and Jamieson Muholland (Gaffer). Several different cameras were used during production, including two SR2's and a DVX 100. Jerem Sloan of Avenue Edit (Chicago) and Joel Signer of Optimus (Chicago) helped greatly in post-production with editing and coloring. And Tommy O'Donnell, base player of "The Ike Reilly Assassination" scored the guitar tunes featured on the Doc.
The Tractor Builder is a story about overcoming adversity and never losing sight of your goals. Through Tom's example we discover that positive thinking and lots of hard work make the impossible a reality. In Tom's own words: "It has been said necessity is the mother of invention; nowhere does that statement ring more true than in my own life and family. My heart leads me to design and build devices and equipment to help empower physically challenged individuals allowing them the same blessings I have enjoyed. Possibility is a statement not a question in my vocabulary. There is always a way to circumvent a problem...namely a deep desire to overcome...where failure is not an option.
Tractor Builder received the Studs Terkel Award for a project that takes risks in covering social issues by offering new or unusual perspectives on topics of general concern.