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Aphasia was written by Jim Gloster, a local director, actor and writer.  Gloster wanted to capture the story of his friend, Charlotte actor, Carl McIntyre who suffered a massive stroke in 2005 at just 44 years of age. As a result, McIntyre lives with aphasia, an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language but does not affect intelligence.

Aphasia recounts McIntyre’s first person experience during the stroke, his recovery and his struggle with his inability to communicate. Carl McIntyre stars as himself in this short film that seeks to raise awareness about aphasia and provide hope and inspiration to stroke survivors and their families.
The film was shot in Charlotte with approximately 100 crew members rotating through the eight day shoot.  There are 33 speaking roles and roughly 35 cast extras that were used at different times.  Most of them had had worked with Carl previously or knew of him, his career and his story.
“The loyalty people felt to Carl made this project a talent magnet for the producing and casting team and provided us with some of the most experienced and gifted local crew and actors for the shoot, all gratis,” said Donna Scott, Executive Producer.

The production team of Jim Gloster, Chuck Bludsworth, Tonya Bludsworth and Donna Scott formed Little Word Films to produce Aphasia, in post production in Charlotte.  The film will be screened on May 1 for the 40th anniversary celebration of the Speech Therapy Department of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences .  Little Word Films has partnered with UNC Chapel Hill on this project.

“Aphasia was the perfect way for us to use our art to bring something positive and far-reaching out of a tragic situation. Everyone brought their “A” game, because it felt so important to seize the opportunity and produce the film at the highest quality level possible,” Scott added.

To learn more about the Carl McIntyre Aphasia Project, or to donate directly to the UNC-Chapel Hill Aphasia Clinical Services fund in support of the film, please check out the website Aphasia the Movie.   All donations to the fund are tax deductible.

More than 100,000 Americans develop the disorder annually. Aphasia affects about one million Americans, or 1 in 300 people. It is more common than Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy.  However, most people have never heard of aphasia. While the most common cause is stroke, aphasia can also result from head injury, brain tumor or other neurological causes. To learn more, go to HERE

Click here to view the embedded video.