Sean Ackerman has a curious sort of cross-training. Prior to entering a study of child psychiatry after medical school, he was a film student at New York University, which gave him the perfect preparation for his latest project.
It’s a film about the healing power of music and family, tentatively titled The Kelley Gibson Story about a clan well known in the bluegrass world. Kelley is the son of Eric Gibson, one half of the notorious Gibson Brothers, two-time winners of both the Vocal Group of the Year and Entertainer of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association.
Now 19, Kelley spent his youth alternately diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and autism, with Eric and his wife, Corrina, taking him from doctor to doctor looking for treatments and therapies that would help Kelley deal with his frustrations and illness. All while also raising a second son, Kieran, four years younger.
The film tells the story of Kelly’s medical care, through interviews with he and his family, and how he began to do better when everyone began focusing less on the problems he was experiencing, and instead finding things he could do well. And one of those things was, unsurprisingly, bluegrass music.
Here’s the trailer Ackerman created to try and raise funds to complete the project through Kickstarter.
If you find yourself moved by Kelley’s story, and want to help Sean finish and distribute The Kelley Gibson Story, you might consider making a donation via Kickstarter.
