Movie Night features "Charged: The Eduardo Garcia Story"

SEELEY LAKE - Movie night during the Tour of the Arts weekend features two free showings of "Charged: The Eduardo Garcia Story" (84 minutes, PG) Friday, Oct. 13 at the Lincoln Community Hall and Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Seeley Lake Community Hall both at 7 p.m.

"Charged" was created by the same Bozeman filmmakers that brought us last year's Tour of the Arts film, "Unbranded" director Phillip Baribeau and producer Dennis Aig. The film begins when Eduardo Garcia, a Bozeman outdoorsman and chef, is bow hunting in the Gallatin Range near Gardiner. A frequent collector o f rusted relics from early trapper days, he comes upon an old bucket and the remains of a long dead grizzly cub next to it. Thinking the bear cub claws would be a cool find, he took out his knife and grabbed a paw with his right hand.

2400 volts of electricity went through his body – finding nine exits, mostly on his left side. That 'bucket' was an old jerry-rigged electrical junction box connected to a live power line leading to a trapper's cabin. What happened then would alter Garcia's life permanently.

This fascinating film tells the story of his four-year recovery, losing most of his left arm, four ribs and enduring 21 surgeries. But the story traces more than this medical miracle. "Charged" pieces together a multi-layered story of relationships – growing up without his Mexican father, living with his mother and siblings in a West Yellowstone religious community and exploring his complex relationship with his long-term girlfriend. His recovery included triathlons, surfing, snowboarding, fishing and, once again, bow hunting. As he rebuilt his career as a chef, he also rededicated his life to other challenged athletes. "Charged" is a unique and inspiring Montana story.