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hotographer and filmmaker Katie Norris’ life changed 10 years ago when she received a phone call from a mother who was weeping over her son’s recent brain tumor diagnosis. “Someone told me you could help me,” the mom said to Norris on the phone. “I couldn’ t breathe thinking about what she must have been going through having to speak those words,” Norris says. This was the moment Norris knew she needed to use her passion for photography and filmmaking to help those enduring hardship. “I grabbed the first filmmaker I knew and we went in there and captured this stor y. They lost their son a few weeks later. We were able to capture that last smile on their son’s (face),” Norris says. “ We all hope to find a calling in life. I ac tually got a phone call that changed my life.” A f t e r t e l l i n g t h i s s t o r y, some of Norris’ friends and family asked her how long she planned on continuing this work. “Until I get another phone call,” Norris says. “ We’ ll be doing this and keep ser ving families.” T he L ake Highlands nat i v e s t a r t e d t h e n o n p r o fi t Fo t o l a n t h r o p y i n 2 0 1 1 t o celebrate stories of hope and support those over coming insurmountable odds through photography, feature films and doc umentaries. Fotolanthropy ser ved many L ake Highlands families in its beginnings. N o r r i s t o o k Fo t o l a n t h r o p y t o t h e n e x t l e v e l w i t h t h e n o n p r o fi t ’s fi r s t f e a t u r e fi l m a b o u t a quadruple amputee soldier named Travis Mills. Initially, the visit with Mills was supposed to be a por trait session and short film. “I’m sitting across this man with no arms and legs. Here’s this guy that’s given ever ything for us,” Norris says. “ T he thought just came to my mind: ‘ What are my arms and legs? What am I giving to him?’ I talked about it with our director, and he had the idea to make a feature film.” Fotolanthropy fundraised and produced what would become Travis: A Soldier’s Story. Norris’ vision was to premiere the film in Dallas and get Mills a standing ovation. O v e r 5 0 0 p e o p l e , i n c l u d i n g p o l i c e o ff i c e r s , ser vice men and women and G old Star families attended the Angelika Film Center premiere to
celebrate Mills. “ T here was not a dr y eye in the place,” Norris says. The phone started ringing off the hook the next day, with many wanting permission to show the film. Since then, Fotolanthropy has comple ted three feature films. Fotolanthropy’s most recent one, 7 Yards, made its Ne tflix debut earlier this year. T he film tells the stor y of Chris Nor ton, a man who suffered a debilitating spinal cord injur y that left him unlikely to ever move again. After years of physical therapy and training, Norton successfully walked across his college graduation stage and down the wedding aisle with his wife, Emily. “I know that anyone that watches it will walk away feeling connected to one of the charac ters and will walk away inspired and renewed,” Norris says. Fo t o l a n t h r o p y f i l m s a n d documentaries have featured stories about a range of topics including a special needs child, a family’s home lost in a fire and a father with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Nominations for stories typically are submitted on the Fotolanthropy website. T he nonprofit celebrates nominated families with a por trait session and a shor t film of their s tor y. Over the l as t decade, Fotol anthr opy has m a d e o v e r 2 0 s h o r t fi l m s . A t t h e e n d , N o r r i s often realizes the impact these families’ stories have made on her. “It feels so good to give to them, but what you d o n’ t r e a l i z e i s w h e n y o u l o o k b a c k , y o u a d d people to your family,” she says. T he Lake Highlands community has ser ved as a great support in fulfilling Norris’ mission with Fo t o l a n t h r o p y. He r p a s s i o n s f o r p h o t o g r a p h y originated in media classes at L ake Highlands High S chool. “Parents that watched and babysat me when I was little are now cheering us on in what we’re doing with our nonprofit work and cheering us on with our kids,” Norris says. “If Lake Highlands could be a megaphone for this mission and for 7 Yards to push this into the world, we would be so grateful for that. We just want to spread this stor y of hope ever ywhere.”
“It feels so good to give to them, but what you don’t realize is when you look back, you add people to your family.”
june 2021
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