Some of these films will soon be for sale. I will provide some trailers to these works. To date, I have made 9 documentaries from 1992-2023. For technical reasons, I was unable to place them in perfect order from most recent to earliest.

Synopsis How Sweet the Sound (2023)

John Sutton, a blind African American, stood in the hallways of Suburban Station, Philadelphia, every morning since the 1980s and sang in a clear, rich voice, delighting commuters as they walked by on their way to catch their train or get to their jobs. Although John Sutton sometimes struggled financially, he was in many respects a wealthy man. He had a beautiful singing voice and many people loved him. People often gave him money because listening to his melodic tone made them happy. This video, created from audio recordings, found footage and interviews with his friends after his death in 2021, is a tribute to a man you might have walked past on the sidewalk without noticing him, but if you heard him singing you would never forget him.

 

 

Synopsis of Who Said You Can’t Dance (2018)

If you think that a wheelchair user is incapable of dancing, then think again. Wheelchair users, whether athletically mobile or not, can learn to dance with a standing partner.  This documentary brings wheelchair users and standing partners together. Whether the wheelchair users choose to dance competitively or not, the activity puts them in a world without limits. They were taught to believe that their disabilities would limit them, and now doing something that they thought they would never be able to do exposes them to a world of possibility.

Awards

Award of Recognition Disability Issues at The Best Shorts Competition June 2019

Best Short Inspirational Documentary at the American Filmatic Arts Awards December 2019

Nominations

Finalist at the 2022 My Hero International Short Film Festival

Nominated for Best Pennsylvania Filmmaker Category West Chester Film Festival April 2019

Semi Finalist Utah Film Festival March 2019

Screened at the First Glance Philadelphia Film Festival Oct. 2022

Screened at the 2020 Dam Short Film Festival (Boulder City, NV)

Screened at the 2019 Media (PA) Film Festival.

Screened at the 2019 Hoboken International Film Festival

This film appeared on TUTV (Temple University Television) and PHILLYCAM. It was also screened at the 38th Inhale Performance Series at Chi Movement Arts Center in Philadelphia, October 2018.

Synopsis of Gift Horses (2016)

 “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”

•  – Winston ChurchillHorses don’t judge by appearance. They look past peoples’ disabilities and recognize the emotions inside. A horse is a mirror of the soul.Horseback riding provides physical therapy. Walking with the horse, touching the horse, grooming the horse provide emotional therapy. My documentary shows the benefits of using horses for therapy: Horseback riding helps certain people learn to walk.

• Horses provide a safe and protected venue to help Autistic children speak for the first time.
• Horses comfort people disabled by grief.
• Horseback riding gives blind people the freedom and mobility to go wherever they want. 
• Horseback riding puts wheelchair users at the same eye level as able-bodied riders.
• Horseback riding gives wheelchair users the ability to travel over any terrain.  Gift Horses won the following film Festival Awards:
• Award of Merit: Disability Issues/Documentary Short Best shorts Competition September 2021
• First Place The 2017 Media Film Festival Audience Award in Media, PA
  • Second Place Audience Award at the 2017 Southside Film Festival in Bethlehem, PA
  • Inclusion Award received at the 2018 PhillyCAM Award Ceremony Philadelphia, PA
•  2016 IndieFest recipient of the Award of Merit: Documentary Short (Student)
• 2016 IndieFEST Film Awards Humanitarian Award Honorable Mention
  • Best Director Documentary Short 2016 Atlantic City Cinefest in Atlantic City, NJ
  • Second Place Audience Award at the 2016 Roslyn Film Festival in Roslyn, PA

Synopsis of Abandoned Heroes (2008)

“Let us care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.”   – Abraham Lincoln Second Inaugural, March 4, 1865

If Lincoln were alive today, he would be shocked.

Abandoned Heroes demonstrates how certain U.S. veterans return home to a thankless nation. For bravely serving the U.S. when Uncle Sam called, VA doors slammed in their faces. No financial compensation, no jobs offered, no place to live. The U.S. veterans, from Valley Forge to Operation Iraqi Freedom, were abandoned.

Abandoned Heroes is the overdue voice of veterans, crying out for justice. This disturbing documentary is the true account of veterans helping other veterans after organizations that were supposed to help, failed miserably.

Abandoned Heroes has won the following awards:

• Best Short Documentary Award at the 9th Annual DIY Film Festival, 2011, CA
• Best Documentary Award at the 2010 Directors Circle Festival of Shorts, PA
• Best Documentary Award at the 2010 Great Lakes International Film Festival, PA
• Best Independent Short Documentary Award at the 2009 Independent Film Festival of Tampa (Florida)“The Hidden injuries of American heroes begin to surface in this rare look at the forgotten conclusions of war.” Ken Burns.
• Synopsis of Brian’s Run (2002) On August 26, 1978, Brian Bratcher, a promising fifteen year old football player at West Chester Henderson High, sustained a life-challenging spinal cord injury during a scrimmage and became paralyzed. The community came up with the idea of organizing a sponsored 10K race as a way of defraying his medical costs and other expenses resulting from his injury. They hoped to get 100 participants for the one-time race, over 2000 showed up for the event. The race committee’s goal was to raise $500, but to their amazement, they raised $20,000. The injured Bratcher was overwhelmed and insisted “Next year, let’s do it for someone else.” Brian’s Run looks at how the injury of a talented athlete has become a source of inspiration for an entire community and created a 30-year tradition in West Chester, Pennsylvania.This Time It’s Real: The Rebirth of Professional Roller Derby (2012)In Word Association roller derby can trigger many responses: Pro wrestling on wheels, sexy women, tattoos. However, the sport was never meant to go down that path.Former Roller Derby star Judy Sowinski (1940 – 2011) and other former skaters tried to create a new roller derby league, Old School Derby association Pro. It was to be a professional league, minus the theatrics. The theatrics arguably marred the sport. The OSDAPRO skaters’ passion, dedication and great feats of athleticism make David Block’s film breath taking. Although Sowinski’s death brought the league to a dormant state,  her dream of creating OSDAPRO lives on. It can come true as long as skaters have the drive and determination to make it happen.

  Synopsis of Dancing Outside The Box (2012)

  Ballroom dancing merges the rhythm of the music with the graceful movements of the dancers as they glide around the floor. Dancing Outside the Box shows how wheelchair users and their able-bodied partners bring their two worlds together on the dance floor, creating beauty in motion and proving that everyone can dance.

  Watch Dancing Outside the Box:

  “Whatever you thought you knew about dancing, throw it out the window, because this documentary shows a whole new side of moving to music.” The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation

  Dancing Outside the Box has won the following awards:

• The Life Tree Award at the 2013 Life Tree International Film Festival in Loveland, CO
•  Best Documentary Short at the 2013 Eugene International Film Festival in Eugene, OR
• Second Place Viewers’ Choice Award a the 2013 Roslyn Film Festival, in Roslyn, PA
• Discovery Award received at the 2017 PHILLYCAM inaugural Award Ceremony Philadelphia, PA
• The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation praised Dancing Outside The Box. Here’s what they wrote: “Dancing Outside the Box” short docu.Posted by JLo
  Wednesday, December 05, 2012. I had the pleasure of watching the short documentary, “Dancing Outside the Box,” which was created by blind filmmaker, David Block. Whatever you thought you knew about dancing, throw it out the window, because this documentary shows a whole new side of moving to music; I’m talking about wheelchair dancing!Actually, it is about way more than just dancing. It is about the person dancing with their wheelchair in strengthening balance and abs, therapeutic activity, navigating in a wheelchair, interaction, and space awareness. “Why do I care so much about wheelchair dancing? I see the benefit of how it breaks down the social barriers of how people portray those who are less equal. I think it gives them the in for the person who is less able to interact with the able-bodied world, and it gives the able-bodied world the courage to go up to somebody who is less able.” – Ray Leight After watching it, you are going to want to dance the night away! Check out the trailer here.While you’re at it, get the first-ever training manual on integrated dance from The Dancing Wheels Company & School.

Synopsis of Portraits of Possibility

A gun fires. Olympic-caliber athletes emerge, competing in a variety of high-profile sporting events: Track, shot put, long jump, judo and swimming. Their athletic ability is awe-inspiring.

In addition, they’re blind and visually impaired. How can a blind person run? How can a blind person swim? What are their capabilities? The athletes and their coaches unveil the answers.  Coaches learn that blind people are more capable than they thought.  The athletes describe some of the training techniques unique to blind sporting events and provide essential background outlining their training methods. For these blind athletes, overcoming discouragement was a tougher challenge than competing in sports.  Their stories are of humiliation, denial, isolation, and low expectations. Sports were a tool to help dispel some negative attitudes other people had toward them. Through competition, these athletes also developed self-confidence.

Portraits of Possibility challenges some of the attitudes we have about blind and visually impaired people.  Given the chance, these athletes can do more than is possible to become champions. They are portraits of possibility.

Synopsis of Goalball: A Sport for Good Listeners (1992)

What team sport requires quickness, strength, agility, mental toughness and blind folds? Are you stumped? The sport is called Goalball and blind and visually impaired people play it worldwide.

Goalball: A Sport for Good Listeners is a 17-minute documentary that outlines the sport’s origins and the rules of the game. In addition, Goalball players explain how they coped with losing their vision and how they handled the frustration of repeatedly proving to public school teachers and coaches that they can play sports with their fully sighted peers. For many of the athletes, overcoming this obstacle was more challenging than taking part in sports. Many of the Goalball players credit Goalball with raising their self-esteem.