D R I V E N

LOGLINE: Quadriplegic inventor and race-car driver Mario Bonfante Jr. overcomes insurmountable circumstances to chase a seemingly impossible dream.

DRIVEN is an adrenaline-pumping tale of courage and innovation about the relentless pursuit of excellence in the face of unimaginable odds. This documentary is about taking life’s biggest risks in order to help others succeed.

Directed by Cody Wilson and produced by Tiffany Gist and Alexandra Roberson, this film is designed to inspire, educate, thrill, encourage, and hopefully affect change for those who need it most. 

Our team is passionate and dedicated to make this film in the same spirit of excellence that Mario embodies in his character and career. We are confident in the partnership that we have forged as a filmmaking team, and would like to extend that partnership to include you. In order to ensure that our film is a success, we require the committed support of donors like you. Whether you are a member of the racing community, support the Paralympics, a champion for those with disabled bodies, or simply passionate about documentary filmmaking, we invite you to join our team!

Please consider making a contribution—at any level—to support our project and receive ongoing updates of our filmmaking journey as we bring Mario’s story to life. 

Thank you in advance for your generous support of our project! 

Continue reading below to learn more details about Mario’s journey, our plans for the film, as well as each member of our DRIVEN team. 


Sincere Thanks!

— The DRIVEN Team

MARIO BONFANTE JR. has more physical limitations than most of us could fathom. The quadriplegic inventor and race-car driver has dedicated years to chasing a seemingly impossible dream.

Mario's spirit ascended from the earth as quickly as his body slammed into it. This happened in 2006, when he was just 17, but he still can recall the details of that moment. It was a hot September day in the northern California town of Gilroy. Mario recalls hovering above himself, observing the scene of his injury. He felt no fear or pain, as he launched over the handlebars and landed headfirst into the ground. From above, he watched a fire truck, then an ambulance arrive, and saw first responders flip him onto a gurney. He recalled his mental acuity was as sharp as the force that had just pulverized his upper spine. 

SYNOPSIS

Mario’s passion to race reflects his life experiences, but now it seemed increasingly unattainable. However admirable his ambitions might be, racing as a pro likely isn’t a means to a sustainable career for virtually anyone, let alone a quadriplegic. 

DRIVEN will focus on Mario Bonfante Jr’s  journey into changing the auto-racing world. Many may find him physically incapable of being part of that world. By contrast, Mario’s passion and self taught ability to invent has created a conundrum. He has brought about technology that allows severely disabled people to race cars or drive them in new ways. Mario has set out take his idea from bedroom to boardroom, and winning along the way.

Mario didn’t just decide to race one day. He was born into it. Going to the race track as a kid with his dad, he was instantly hooked. He knew this was the life he wanted. Growing up winning countless go- kart and motorcycle races while learning the mechanics on the side, Mario was destined for greatness. Unfortunately, his career came to a halting stop the day he broke his neck. Doctors told Mario that he would need a full time care taker, that people would need to feed him and that he would never race again. He refused help unless necessary. He fought physical weakness, self- doubt, and occupational therapists who didn’t know his body as well as he did. This journey didn’t happen as fast as his mastery of hockey, BMX or motorcycle racing, but he proved everyone wrong. Mario learned to push his own chair, balance a burger on his knuckles, and maintain his catheter. He taught himself to transfer into and out of a passenger car, which he operated using the standard issue controls provided to differently abled drivers. These essentially consisted of rods connected to the brake and gas pedals.


Mario wasn’t done, rather just beginning. He needed to race, a compulsion to accomplish the impossible. Mario took some crude drawings to a machine shop; they told him to come back with cleaner designs. He pawned nearly everything he owned to buy the correct software and taught himself how to design a steering wheel that allowed him to shift, brake, and accelerate all from the steering column. That was the day that Mario reignited the spark of racing again. He was back on the track driving over 100 miles per hour and traveling the world. His new mission was to make his design available to the world.
 

If you want to know how a guy who can barely get a sandwich in his mouth drives a BMW M3 at 130 plus miles per hour using technology he built in his bedroom, then ponder his story. If you want to know why a teen who sustained a crushing injury is now an adult who races cars — just go with it. Sure, there are other ways to explain his proclivity for risk — neuroscience, father issues, ego, even extreme selflessness. In the end, Mario’s higher power is attained through his engine and perseverance. 

TONE

Even though Mario is physically locked into a machine going over 130 MPH, he describes himself as being able to finally be free. This film will try to come close to representing what that feeling is. Racing is a loud and an adrenaline pumping experience, as well as, calming and liberating. 


VISUAL STYLE

Like a well oiled machine, gears locking and moving into place so will the camera. When Mario moves, so does the camera. This allows the viewer to visualize moments of pure adrenaline when Mario accelerates to flashes of reality; we stop and pull back to see Mario struggling just to get out of bed. Filming him and his car in unique ways like the 1966 film, “Grand Prix”, will be incorporated into the elements of modern racing. The visual style will be nothing short of empathetic exhilaration. 


EDITING STYLE

As mentioned racing is loud and exhilarating. Mario describes his car as almost another being. Through editing we will explore fast-paced cuts. When Mario slams his hand forward to shift we will cut on the power of that movement. We will combine the sounds of his spring loaded invention with the noise of his roaring engine. 

PURPOSE

In the end, Mario’s passion to race reflects his soul and life experience. However, admirable his ambition, racing as a pro likely isn’t a means to a sustainable career for virtually anyone, let alone a quadriplegic. By contrast, Mario’s passion to invent is arguably where he will find the most success. While Mario is on the cusp of finding that success, this film’s purpose is to find it with him. Much of what Mario has accomplished has helped to inspire other’s. The core of this documentary is exactly that. He is driven. He will never allow what others say
or perceive as a disability stop him from attaining his goals.