The Story
29 years and living la vida loca in London, James Gribble took off for the trip of a lifetime in Africa.
In a remote part of Zambia, James joined forces with Steve, a fellow traveller, for a fishing adventure to Jungle Junction on the Zambezi River...a famous hunting ground for the elusive and rare Tiger Fish.
Before James even cast a line, he fainted from dehydration, falling off a stool backwards onto hard sand and shattering his C4 & C5 vertebrae and damaging his spinal cord. Left a quadriplegic, according to doctors, the odds of his accident are around one in a million.
James’ catastrophic injury reverberated around the world. Friends and family all over the globe were devastated...including his girlfriend in London.
Tiger Fish is the inspiring story of a man who had it all, lost it and has defied the odds to get it back in an unexpected way. It is an honest, heartwarming – and often hilarious - look at a man who is now changing people's lives through the events of his own accident and the power of his extraordinary attitude and his own charitable initiatives Empower Golf and The Puffin Magic Foundation.
No topic is off the table in this grippingly honest account of sex, love, and the basic, human struggle of everyday things we take for granted, like using the bathroom or eating.
We live in chaotic, complex times. In a world full of turmoil, James’ story is uplifting on the most fundamental of levels. It is the raw account of a man who faces huge challenges everyday but who confronts them with grace, a killer smile and a wicked sense of humor. To know James is to love him.
Tiger Fish is a story of overcoming heartbreak. It explores the devastating effect of James’ accident on those closest to him, particularly the Gribble family and their single-mindedness in helping him gain independence.
Tiger Fish is a story about love. James and his girlfriend's passionate relationship spans the globe and incredible hurdles. It covers the joy of their engagement and the ultimate demise of their relationship.
Tiger Fish is a story of deep-seated mateship. It celebrates the incredible people who have gathered around James in an unprecedented way to further aid his recovery, as they helped him train like an Olympic Athlete. And it is the continued story of the mates that will never leave James out of anything. Lucky for someone who has a serious case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
It took 9 years and 10,000 hours of physiotherapy for James to return to the place where his life changed forever in Zambia, Africa.
What We Need..& What You Get
We are seeking to raise a minimum of $100K to finish our documentary; $200K in total as a stretch goal with additional marketing and legal dollars.
It is our dream that film proceeds will go towards James' charity to help better the lives of those like James who need financial and emotional support.
Funds will be used for remaining film production, story producing, narration by Dr Chris Brown, editing, visual effects (our amazing graphics team will create titles, geographical moving maps and cleverly reconstruct the entire scene of James' accident in 3D motion graphics), sound mixing, music rights (yes, those amazing songs you hear on the radio unfortunately all cost a LOT of money to secure the rights for), music composition and recording of original score (for the majority of the film), distribution and publicity and legal costs.
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Our goal is to finish the picture by August 2018 so that we may submit to film festivals such as Cannes, Tribeca & Sundance around the world.
All and any support is greatly appreciated.
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Please follow our social media channels to stay updated on our progress and to see sneak clips of our documentary that are not in the teaser.
Meet the Team!
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Director's Note
My name is Nicole "Nick" Alexander. I am a passionate and dedicated Australian Filmmaker/Content Creator and Director based in LA. I currently run my own company Hashtag, You're It, creating long and short form content for networks, agencies and media platforms.
How do I know James Gribble? Well, to dive right into it, as babies, we could be found frolicking in the bath or wearing each other's clothes. At one point we even had the same haircut (we'll talk about this later mom). James is what I like to call my "god brother", meaning that his mother Dee, is my godmother and my mother Robyne, is his. We've known each other our entire lives. He is my oldest and best friend. And although he claims to hate the name 'god brother', I think he secretly loves it.
This documentary is close to ours hearts. Our lifetime friendship and trust allows us to explore issues about disabilities and its effects that others may not touch. I want the world to meet James and James to meet them. Although I would not wish what happened to James on my worst enemy, it is because of his accident, that this influential and magnetic person is having an effect on others that he could not possibly have imagined. James is a man that can truly change people’s lives. He has turned adversity into triumph and if we can inspire one person through Tiger Fish - physically challenged or mentally challenged - then in the words of James himself, this "is all worth it".
Other Ways You Can Help
Thank you from from the bottom of our hearts for any and all assistance you can give us! Together we can DO THIS!
James' story has captured the hearts of many journalists, celebrities and tv shows.
