The Viscardi Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and employing children, adults and veterans with disabilities, held a screening of The Paper Bag Plan on Monday night. After the film, director Anthony Lucero and actor Cole Massie joined the audience for a question-and-answer session.
The Paper Bag Plan is a film about a father who helps his son find independence after learning he may not be around much longer to support him. The film premiered at the Heartland Film Festival in 2024 as part of the ReelAbilities Film Festival, which celebrates disability through film by showcasing stories by and about people with disabilities and promoting inclusion in the film industry.
Writer and director Anthony Lucero said he was inspired to write the film based on his own family experiences. His brother, Eddie, had cerebral palsy and scoliosis, and their mother was his caregiver.
“It was a lifetime of watching this relationship of bathing and watching TV, and she would talk to him all day, and they just had this beautiful relationship,” Lucero said.
Lucero also drew inspiration from his sister, who died unexpectedly of cancer in 2019. She is survived by her daughter, Sarah, who has Angelman syndrome — a rare neurogenetic disorder that causes developmental delays, intellectual disability, severe speech impairment, and problems with movement and balance.
“Had my brother Eddie been able to have a job bagging groceries, that would have been amazing. That would have been the highest achievement that we could think of,” Lucero said.
While the story was originally inspired by two women, Lucero said many actresses turned down the lead role. His wife suggested there aren’t enough father-son stories. As a recent father himself, Lucero decided to rework the story as a father-son narrative.
Cole Massie, who plays the main character, Billy, said the story felt deeply personal.
“This film was my story,” Massie said.
Massie has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair or walker for mobility. Despite his disability, he has had a successful acting career, appearing in Glee, Warped!, Speechless and more.
“This is the story that I want to tell, and this is a story that needs to be told authentically and with care — and I thought Anthony did that,” Massie said.
