Awesome Gal
The doors are closed. There are no more screenings of this film.
Synopsis: A girl named Reggie and a horse named Awesome Gal meet after fleeing abuse, and begin a journey of hope, healing, and triumph.
Imagine a horse’s front legs and pasterns painted with kerosene and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. The horse is trapped, alone in a stall while the chemicals burn his flesh. He tries to lie down to ease the pain but is beaten to stand up. Once the chemicals have done their work, the sole is cut to the quick with an electric grinder until it bleeds. Screws and objects are driven into the hoof. Then a 6 inch stack weighing 15 pounds is applied. Chains are then attached around the pasterns. Other abuses include forcing the horse to stand on wooden blocks for hours or days, taping golf balls or wood to the sole, placing the horse’s head through a tire and tie the horse so his neck will arch, and severe bits. This is known as soring.
Soring produces the artificial “Big Lick” gait because the horse is in extreme pain. Every step is torture. The Big Lick is still an attraction at the Tennessee Walking Horse Exhibitors and Breeders Association (TWHEBA) annual Celebration in Shelbysville, Tennessee, as well as other shows. Even though soring became illegal with the Horse Protection Act (1970), the industry polices itself and hides the abuse.
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Executive Producer
Director's Bio
Frank M Calo is an Independent Producer and Director whose film THE BELIEVER, starring Ryan Gosling and Billy Zane won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Festival. That film won all the festivals that year including The Berlin Film Festival. It was shown nation wide and had a great box office run.
His film, HERE & THERE with Cyndi Lauper and David Thornton has won the BEST NY NARRITIVE IN WORLD COMPETITION 2009 at Robert DeNiro’s, Tribeca Film Festival in NYC and had it’s official News York premier played to wide audiences domestically and overseas.
Mr. Calo has worked with Robert DeNiro (Godsend), Demi Moore, Mike Myers, Shelly Winters, Marlon Brando and many more. His film THE COOKOUT with Queen Latifah also had a great box office run distributed by Lions Gate Films. He also worked for two years with The Motion Picture Bond Company under Robert Bordiga, as a Producer working on films throughout the tri-state areas. He is currently working on two featured films entitled JOHNNY POSTAL and EYES OF THE KINGS along with a TV pilot entitled ESQ starring Dayton Callie from Sons of Anarchy.
Mr. Calo “… always wanted to tell stories and that’s who I became, a storyteller…For me, it was just a matter of taking the time to learn and to listen very carefully from the masters…I love taking characters and audiences on a journey through my mind. When you finish writing one story, all that’s left is to roll the dice and throw them on the table, where it lands is where it lands….which is better than just sitting on your shelf never to be seen or heard…no risk in that…I’ll take that risk over none at all. It’s not the beginning or the end of a story that intrigues me, it’s the journey and that’s the hardest part to write”.
