“Beautiful Faces,” the latest documentary by UTC alumnus Dagan Beckett, will have its premiere Chattanooga screening on the UTC campus.
In “Beautiful Faces,” Beckett—who received bachelor’s degrees in music and mass communication from UTC—includes unprecedented craniofacial reconstruction surgery footage never before captured on film in exploring the journeys three young patients, their parents and local surgeon Dr. Larry Sargent took through multiple plastic surgeries to address their medical problems.
“Beautiful Faces” examines Sargent’s dedication to assisting children with craniofacial issues and how his innovative surgical methods enable him to improve their quality of life. Sargent’s work has been featured in award-winning documentaries on internationally broadcast The Learning Channel, Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel.
Beckett, the documentary’s director, said the initial concept was a biography about Sargent, “but getting to learn and getting to know the parents of the kids that he had operated on, we found that’s the true story.”
One of the personal stories woven into the documentary involved a teenager and championship equestrian who was kicked in the face by a horse, causing injuries so severe doctors weren’t sure she would live. When she arrived at Erlanger Hospital on its Lifeforce helicopter, emergency room doctors immediately said, “Call Dr. Sargent.”
“You’re watching the film and what he does,” producer Irving Berner said, “and you’re sitting there going, ‘How does anybody ever learn how to do this?’ It is beyond medicine.
“It’s almost like medicine and art—being a sculptor. It’s just so intense.”
The Music Division of the UTC Department of Performing Arts will host the documentary’s Chattanooga premiere in the Fine Arts Center’s Roland Hayes Concert Hall at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, followed by a Q&A with the cast and filmmakers. In addition, a meet-and-greet with the filmmakers will take place in the Fine Arts Center lobby beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is free for students and $5 for non-students, but registration is required. Click here for the registration link.
The UTC Fine Arts Center is at the intersection of Dr. Roland Carter Street (formerly known as Vine Street) and Palmetto Street on the UTC campus. Free parking is available in the adjacent Lupton Hall parking garage. Both the parking garage and the Hayes Concert Hall are handicap accessible.