By Maria Cuomo Cole and Kevin Breslin
On a snowy April day at Virginia Tech in 2007, 32 students and faculty were shot and killed by a lone gunman, 17 others were wounded, and six more were injured jumping out of windows.
Through the personal story of survivor Colin Goddard, Living for 32 tells the tragic tale of one of the worst gun massacres in recent American history, along with Goddard's inspirational journey of renewal and hope. The then-21-year-old was shot four times and told he might never walk again. He lives today with three bullets still lodged in his body and a titanium rod in his left leg.
Goddard revisits his former classroom for the first time in the film, and emotionally recounts the terror of that day. After recovering from his wounds and completing physical therapy, he made it his life's mission to help ensure that a tragedy like the Virginia Tech massacre would never happen again.
The film couples footage of Goddard at Tech with several trips he made to gun shows across America. With the help of a hidden camera, he documents how easy it is for anyone to purchase a gun, with no ID or Brady background check, and just a handful of cash.
Living for 32 vividly portrays the reality of the Virginia Tech shootings and raises important questions about the effectiveness of current gun laws and other efforts to curb gun violence in America.
Reviews
~ "The passion, charisma, and optimism of Colin Goddard, a survivor of the tragic massacre on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007, shape this inspirational story." - Sundance Film Festival
~ "Living for 32 is a powerful film. Colin Goddard, like many heroic Americans, knows that we have a Virginia Tech every day with more than 32 Americans dying daily due to gun violence. This film teaches, touches and challenges us to act." - Mayor Cory Booker, Newark, NJ
~ "Like my husband, Jim Brady, Colin Goddard wouldn't sit down when life tried to force him to. He stood up to the challenge of his injury, and is now standing tall for all victims of gun violence. Maria Cuomo Cole and director Kevin Breslin have captured his story magnificently in Living for 32." - Sarah Brady
Awards
~ Academy Award Documentary Shortlist
~ World Premiere, Sundance Film Festival
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