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<\/a>\u201cOur injuries don\u2019t define us. We make the best of our injuries.\u201d \u2013 Corporal Kionte , Unites States Marine Corps<\/p><\/div>\n
As you watch Corporal Kionte Storey running windsprint after windsprint, it\u2019s easy to see that he\u2019s a retired marine with a goal.<\/p>\n
If you watched an hour of the documentary-in-progress, as we did, that Cirina Catania, founder\/lead creative of The Catania Group, has been working on for several months, you quickly realize he has dozens of goals and will probably achieve all of them.<\/p>\n
On the track nearly every day, he\u2019s determined to prove that he has what it takes to not only participate but to win in a future Paralympics and will hopefully even represent his country in the 100, 200 and 400m sprint events in the 2016 International Paralympics.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s almost impossible to watch the film footage of him today and understand the toll the loss of his lower right leg to an IED (improvised explosive device) in Afghanistan in September of 2010 took on him and the mental scars he carries with him even today.<\/p>\n
Like so many men and women who return home wounded, recovery was a long and painful (physically and mentally) process.<\/p>\n
With his mom constantly by his side, he recovered at Bethesda Naval Medical Center before being transferred to San Diego.<\/p>\n
He seldom shared the depression that was weighing on him, instead telling others (and reminding himself), \u201cIt could have been worse. It is what it is and there\u2019s nothing you can do but move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s delighted that Cirina is doing his documentary; not for himself, but to encourage the thousands of wounded service men and women who also experience the physical\/mental trauma and to help others have a better understanding.<\/p>\n
During his early recovery, he would wear his \u201chappy face\u201d everywhere except his barracks room. There, he\u2019d swing from guilt for not being there for his Marine brothers and depression so deep, dark he frightened even himself (www.kiontestorey.com).<\/p>\n
Knowing he was going into a deep hole he might never climb out of, he went cold turkey on the prescription pain\/depression pills and started attending Paralympics sports camps.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Driven to Win \u2013 Almost every day, you\u2019ll find Kionte Storey on the track pushing himself to be at the peak of his performance for the 100, 200 and 400m sprint aiming for the 2016 International Paralympics. In the evenings, he works for the FBI; and in his spare time, he and Koja speak to adult and children\u2019s groups on overcoming adversity.<\/p><\/div>\n
Today, he shrugs off the pain he experienced when he began to walk a few minutes, a few hours and finally all day on his new prosthetic.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t until he got his first running prosthetic, cheetah leg, that he found sports made him happy and felt he had found his \u201cnew life.\u201d<\/p>\n
After his three years of service and recovery, he still had a hard time being around people; suffered the symptoms of many other men\/women who had experienced battle \u2013 anxiety, nervousness, high sense of alertness, forgetting where he was.<\/p>\n
A year after his injury, the 25-year-old Marine met his new best friend and training partner, Koja.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Buddy Time \u2013 Kionte takes a break from practice to spend some quality time with his best friend, Koja. Since 2011, Kionte and Koja, a Siberian Husky service dog, have been almost inseparable. Kionte says Koja helps him through the rough periods and celebrates with him with each achievement.<\/p><\/div>\n
His constant companion, the Siberian Husky not only gives Kionte a whole new sense of joy and happiness, he brings a smile to everyone he meets.<\/p>\n
In addition to his daily training aimed towards the 2016 International Paralympics, Kionte also works his \u201cnight job\u201d with the FBI, is active in community service helping other wounded men\/women gain their own New Life and is preparing for next Fall as a motivational speaker at schools to help youngsters understand that there isn\u2019t anything too small or too large that they can\u2019t accomplish.<\/p>\n
The Marines call it \u201cAdapt and Overcome,\u201d<\/i> and to the groups he speaks to Kionte emphasizes that, \u201cOur injuries don\u2019t define or make us. We make the best of our injuries.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Even before Cirina met Kionte and convinced him to let her produce a documentary on his New Life, he was achieving goal after goal, including becoming the first African American and first amputee to reach the summit of Antarctica\u2019s Mt. Vinson. He has also learned to snowboard, skateboard, ski; has medaled in Warrior Games track and swimming events and is now focusing on the International Paralympics.<\/p>\n
<\/a>On Set \u2013 The one-person cinematography crew, Cirina Catania, captures Kionte\u2019s thoughts, experiences and New Life using a Blackmagic Cinema Camera and OWC\u2019s Pro 6G SSD. Kionte and Cirina both hope the documentary will become a series of films focused on helping others returning from combat and to help friends\/family members understand and assist returning service men and women overcome their physical\/mental challenges.<\/p><\/div>\n
While she has an extensive background with major studio and independent film work, Cirina said that Kionte inspired her to finally develop a positive documentary series on the challenges and successes of wounded returning military personnel.<\/p>\n
She notes that doing documentaries like her current one, which is called \u201cKionte Storey \u2013 Athlete,\u201d is the type of project that The Catania Group intends to continue producing.<\/p>\n
She explains that for projects like Kionte\u2019s documentary \u2013 the first of many she hopes to produce, you have to be invisible during the shooting and quickly but accurately capture the action and emotion with great sensitivity.<\/p>\n
While she has had some volunteer assistance from Philip Hodgetts and Gregory Clark\u2019s Lumberjack System, used for logging the segments, Cirina does all of the shooting\/production herself because there is no crew budget.<\/p>\n
To capture the Kionte\u2019s\/Koja\u2019s story and action she uses Blackmagic Cinema Cameras, Blackmagic Pocket Camera, GoPro, NEX7 and their respective kits. All of the content is quickly, and reliably stored on Other World Computing 6G Pro SSD cards.<\/p>\n
Cirina hopes to have at least the first \u201cinstallment\u201d of Kionte\u2019s documentary available on the web probably atwww.TheCataniaGroup.com<\/a> and on Kionte\u2019s site.<\/p>\n Her goal is to raise awareness of Kionte\u2019s and other veterans\u2019 challenges and achievements.<\/p>\n Whether through crowdsourcing or the sale of the web or TV rights, she wants her work to help raise funds to help others who don\u2019t have the support of a mother like his and an unflinching friend\/partner like Koja.<\/p>\n