Eleven-year-old Avery Small falls silent as a result of the untimely death of his parents. Quiet and internalized, Avery dreams of re-connecting with his deceased parents but first must conquer a local town legend that will become the key to unlocking his silence and pain.

Eleven-year-old Avery Small falls silent as a result of the untimely death of his parents.
Avery moves to a small town to live with his Grandmother where she struggles to help Avery deal with their loss by trying to get him to speak. However, her attempts are unsuccessful.
Together, they discover an old photograph of Avery's dad, around Avery's age, standing with his brand new bicycle. Later, when Avery discovers a similar bicycle in a hardware store window, he becomes determined to raise enough money to buy it.
During a routine haircut, Avery meets Mr. Zondervan, a local barber who introduces Avery to an old chair (Razorback) in his shop. Legend has it that "Old Razorback", as it's known around town, is hooked up to a lightning rod on his roof and if any kid can survive a haircut while sitting in it, they win a prize. Avery later finds out that no one has ever survived a haircut while sitting in "Old Razorback".
Mr. Zondervan, aware of Avery's family situation and his intention to buy the bicycle, challenges Avery with the opportunity to win the bike by sitting through a haircut in "Old Razorback". Even though the town's kids confirm the legend and the danger of the chair, Avery, left with no alternative, accepts the challenge.
Avery's sheer will to survive and his dedication to reconnect with his dead parents are so strong that even amidst an electrical storm, to everyone's surprise, Avery survives.
However, when Zondervan alters the deal and denies Avery his prize, Avery's emotions take over and as clearly as Zondervan hoped, Avery speaks, claiming the bicycle and freeing himself from his own silence and pain.

Michael Greenspan - director
Michael was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In 1995, he attended York University's Film school in Toronto, Canada.
While at York, Michael wrote, produced and directed two award-winning short films. These films have screened at festivals around the world and have aired nationally on Canadian television.
Fishtales, his first short film, won top prize for most outstanding Educational Program and for Best Performing Arts and Entertainment Program at Can-Pro in 1999; Canada's top specialty television awards show. Kodak Canada presented Fishtales with a special award as well as the ACCT Scholarship Award. Fishtales aired on TV Ontario Christmas 1999.
Michael followed this up with Lost & Found, a half-hour mystery, which premiered internationally in Tel Aviv, and domestically in Toronto, where it earned the Student Canadian Society of Cinematographers top award. Lost & Found was sold to the CBC, Canada's top broadcaster, and premiered nationwide in September 2000.
Upon graduating from York cum laude, Michael received the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and the City of Toronto's highest awards, designating him as one of Canada's top graduating students from a film academy.
In December 2002, Michael graduated with a Master's degree in directing from the American Film Institute where he completed his thesis film The Legend of Razorback starring renowned film actor, Kevin McCarthy. Mentored by one of Hollywood's most distinguished director's, Robert Wise, and partly funded by The Tonight Show's Jay Leno, The Legend of Razorback has already been selected as a finalist at the American Society of Cinematographers Student Awards.
Michael is currently developing his first feature film.

Joel McDonell - Producer
Joel was born in Oakland, California. He received his Bachelor of Arts double major degree from California State University Sacramento, in both Film and Communications Media studies and has recently received his masters in producing from the American Film Institute. While at AFI he received the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholarship, the AFI Conservatory Scholarship, and wrote two short scripts. He is currently developing a feature film based on a treatment that he wrote while at AFI. During his time in Sacramento he was a successful Commercial/Promotions Producer/Director at both WB and UPN affiliates and won various awards for his work on some of these projects. Joel is currently developing feature projects.

Pietro Zuercher - Cinematographer
Pietro moved from Switzerland to the U.S.A. six years ago to pursue a career as a cinematopgraher. He began his career in the U.S. at the Maine Film Workshops in Rockport, ME. It was in the East Coast that he quickly worked his way up from a loader to assistant camera to cinematographer and shot twelve short films in this role. After achieving his goals in Maine, he decided that he wanted to refine his visual story-telling skills and applied to the American Film Institute. He was accepted into AFI's cinematography program in the summer of 2000 and recently graduated with an MFA degree. He is currently in pre-production for his first feature length film, and is being mentored by one of Hollywood's most successful and prominent cinematographers.

Alex Katz - Editor
Alex Katz, originally from Boston, Massachusetts, received his masters in editing from the American Film Institute. He has been working as a freelance editor since he moved to Los Angeles six years ago. While at AFI he received both the Cort/Swedlin and the AFI Conservatory Scholarship. Recently he edited the short film, A Table is a Table, which was an official selection at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. Currently, Alex works in the world of reality television. He has edited for both seasons of the Bachelor on ABC as well as High School Reunion, which airs on the WB in January.