ST. GEORGE — While superheroes dominate the box office in Hollywood, Southern Utah kids are learning how to save themselves by becoming their own superheroes.
It’s all part of a program developed by a nonprofit group called the Figmentation Foundation. The group strives to empower kids who have endured serious illness or injury by enabling them to create their own superheroes. These characters are brought to life with costumes the kids help design. Along with all this comes a chance to bring that character to life on the silver screen.
Twelve-year-old Alex Lowery’s whole world was changed by one pivotal event. One minute he was just a regular kid living his life in Hurricane, the next Lowery was being taken by Life Flight to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Lowery had to adapt quickly to a new health regimen.
Kids like Lowery who are dealing with serious medical conditions have to grow up fast. This in turn can add to their trauma. Jacque Ence, one of the founders of Figmentation Foundation, works to blunt this crisis by giving kids a chance to experience being their own superhero through costuming and film.
“Kids need to be able to see themselves as more than their trauma,” Ence said. “We want them to re-boot and start over so they can see themselves for their potential, who they really are inside.”
With the goal being to help kids rise above life-altering incidents, Jeremy Bird, another founder of Figmentation Foundation, said this movement is evolving and attracting new volunteers. Bird began this journey by helping a photographer create superhero costumes for kids facing medical challenges. From there, the idea sprouted into using those costumes in movies starring the young patients themselves.
“The shyest human being can be inside a costume and everything changes for them,” Bird said. “We want to restore some of the innocence and wonderment that is childhood through pretend.”
Figmentation Foundation has just wrapped up filming a 15-minute movie called “Scorpiation” which is based on a character and a story concept created by Alex Lowery. As the star of the film, Lowery said the plot involves a super genius kid working on a plan to make a renewable fuel. The superhero “Scorpiation” is created when his character falls into his experiment and emerges with super powers.
“I end up finding this bad guy, and he becomes my arch nemesis,” Lowery said.
As part of the action, there are a number of scenes that involve stunts. A professional stunt double was brought in for some of the trickier maneuvers. Lowery said he enjoyed watching and learning from his stunt double.
“He started jumping off rails that are like 10 feet up in the air,” Lowery said.
“Scorpiation” was directed by Colin Cunningham, more commonly known for his work in front of the camera on TV shows and movies like “Stargate SG-1,” “Falling Skies,” and “Best in Show.”
The production included a full movie crew with costumers, lighting people, camera operators and a grip. The movie will premier later this year at the Electric Theater in St. George. A red carpet event will be held to honor Lowery and his cast mates. For more information, contact the Figmentation Foundation.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.
Adele Park is an Audie Award winning writer, producer, voice artist and editor. After receiving a bachelor of humanities and fine arts from Mesa College, Park embarked on a radio and TV career spanning more than 30 years. Park is owned by a long-haired Siberian cat named Allison.
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