LIFE. SUPPORT. MUSIC. Airs on P.O.V. This Week

Eric Daniel Metzgar's second feature-length documentary is a beauty.  A deeply personal film about one of his music partners and close friends, Jason Crigler, Life. Support. Music. documents an extraordinary journey of healing, love and sheer determination on one man's part to sucker-punch the odds of recovery from a  near-fatal brain hemorrhage from a very discouraging diagnosis to performing and recording again.  And learning how to become a father to a daughter whose birth he doesn't remember.

In 2004, Jason Crigler's future was bright.  He was one of New York's hottest young guitarists on the rise; his wife, Monica, was pregnant with their first child.  At a gig one evening, Crigler suffered a severe hemorrhage.  After assessing his state, his caretakers wagered he would never emerge from a mostly vegetative state, would be unable to feed or care for himself, and would be unable to walk or move around on his own, let alone write and play music again.  With his and Monica's incredibly inspiring families' unrelenting support and encouragement, he proved them wrong.

This Tuesday, Life. Support. Music. will make its broadcast début on PBS' P.O.V. series; check local listings for showtimes.  Visit the film's website or its page on the P.O.V. site to learn more about the Criglers' story, read an interview with Metzgar, buy the DVD from Film Baby (both home and educational versions are available) and to listen to some of Jason's fantastic music.  You can also read an in-depth interview I conducted last year with the wonderful and talented Metzgar on the Shooting People site by clicking here.

Playing directly after Life. Support. Music. will be an encore presentation of an extraordinary 6-minute experimental piece that débuted on PBS in 2007, Ariana Gerstein's Alice Sees the Light.