Winner of over 25 festival awards.
"A classic" - LA Times
"An odyssey" - Variety
"Remarkable" - Cinematical
"The best film of the year" - DVD Talk
Winner of over 25 festival awards. "A classic" - LA Times "An odyssey" - Variety "Remarkable" - Cinematical "The best film of the year" - DVD Talk
The Movie
Accompanied by eleven of his best friends, Darius Weems, a fifteen-year-old living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), leaves home for the first time in his life. He and his rowdy crew rent an RV and set a course for California, where they hope to convince MTV to customize Darius's wheelchair on the hit show, “Pimp My Ride.”
Winner of 28 film festival awards worldwide, Darius Goes West is a rarely seen testament to the explosive idealism of today’s youth, as well as a vivid portrayal of adventure, of brotherhood, and of the character and strength it takes to shed light on an uncertain future.
Not only does Darius Weems bravely face his own inevitable fate with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but through this unflinching humor and his extraordinary laugh, he sparks a revolution in the lives of everyone who crosses—and then shares—his courageous path. Part revolution, part revelation, this film proves to people of all ages how life, even when imperfect, is always worth the ride.
Darius and director Logan Smalley have appeared on Ellen DeGeneres, The Today Show, The CBS Early Show, ABC’s Nightline (twice), and CNN.
Darius Goes West was previously only available on Netflix (2015-2018) or DVD, but is now available for free for everyone to stream and share via YouTube.
The Movement
Darius Goes West — the nonprofit film and organization — sparked a worldwide movement that galvanized hundreds of thousands of supporters to raise millions of dollars Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) research, to become wheelchair accessibility advocates in their schools and communities and to creatively celebrate and elevate Darius’s inspiring story in thousands of schools, theaters and community events throughout the world.
To date, Darius, his crew and his supporters have raised over $2.5 million for DMD research. The money has been used to accelerate promising science and research across a variety of clinical settings, including seed funding for what became the first FDA approved treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in history.
“We are an independent grassroots movement. We will not stop until we affect the number one genetic killer of children in the world” — Darius Weems
The Memories
His award-winning documentary only includes footage from Darius’s initial 7,000 mile cross-country adventure. However, after the film’s release, Darius and crew would go on to travel over 300,000 miles by road celebrating Darius, his film, his music (his rap album reached #39 on the Apple charts!) and the impact his life had on the millions of people who discovered his story.
Today and every day — through photos, videos and words — we remember the millions of tiny moments we all shared together on “the big fat road”, and we celebrate the unforgettable life and legacy of Darius “Big Daddy” Weems.
Help us celebrate these memories and create new ones by sharing this film.
"I was smiling that day and I'm gonna be smiling when I leave. 'Cause when I die, folks ain't gonna say, 'Darius gone' ... they gonna say, 'Darius gone West.'" - Darius Weems