"Most people think 'gimp' means someone with a lame walk.
But 'gimp' also means a 'fighting spirit.' "
-- Dan Keplinger
Dan Keplinger was born with cerebral palsy. When he turned 12, two filmmakers in Baltimore began to document his life, and filmed for more than 13 years. KING GIMP is the inspiring story of his journey.
A film by Susan Hannah Hadary and William Whiteford, written by Keplinger himself, KING GIMP traces the struggles of a young man for whom no daily routine is taken for granted. Using paint as his language, and his art as his voice, he has found a decidedly unique way to communicate his emotions and perceptions. The Oscar® winner this year for Documentary Short Subject, KING GIMP debuts MONDAY, JUNE 5 (7:00-7:45 p.m. ET), exclusively on HBO. Other playdates: June 10 (1:00 p.m.), 15 (3:45 p.m.) and 21 (11:45 a.m., 5:50 a.m.), and July 1 (9:30 a.m.) and 7 (noon).
Against the filmed backdrop of images and experiences from his childhood, teen years and early twenties, Dan Keplinger tells his story in his own words. He proudly relates how his mom refused to put him in an institution so that he could experience the excitement of the waves by the seashore and play in the snow like any other child. Thrown over her shoulder or pushed in a wheelchair, Dan goes everywhere. And when he gets bored at a school for children with special needs, his mother begins the years-long battle to get Dan mainstreamed into his neighborhood high school, despite opposition. "No one could understand that I was an intelligent person inside of this body," he explains.
