Film explores how human touch, play, and community can heal trauma and loneliness.
From the Heart Productions, the top-rated 501(c)3 dedicated to funding unique films with a strong social impact, is proud to announce Touching the Sky as the winner of the 2025 Roy W. Dean Spring Grant. The transformative documentary, which explores how the practice of Acro Yoga brings connection, healing, and joy to those longing for human touch and community, will receive $3,500 to support continued work on this project.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Tim Hedberg, Touching the Sky follows Chris Jeckel, a blind man healing from the trauma of an isolated childhood, as he finds purpose, connection, and play through the communal art of Acro Yoga.
The film reveals how this practice creates physical, emotional, and psychological transformation, especially at a time when isolation and disconnection dominate modern life. The story features a diverse cast and interviews with leading medical professionals, including insights that align with U.S. Surgeon General advisories on the national loneliness epidemic.
“We were deeply moved by Touching the Sky’s message of inclusion, resilience, and the rediscovery of joy through movement and connection,” said Carole Joyce, Director of the Roy W. Dean Grants. “This is the kind of story the world needs right now—a film that inspires and shows us a path toward healing.”
Touching the Sky is a timely response to our era of digital disconnection. Through visually stunning storytelling and expert commentary, the film encourages viewers to embrace movement, fun, and togetherness as essential elements of personal and collective well-being.
About the Filmmakers
Tim Hedberg, Director
Tim is a documentary filmmaker and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Motivo Media, a global production , is Tim is a documentary filmmaker and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Motivo Media, a global productioncompany that empowers nonprofits, universities, and startups through cinematic storytelling. His recent projects include an animated short voiced by Joaquin Phoenix, Bitcoin Cowboys, and Taking Poletown. Tim is also a visiting professor at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín film school in Guatemala.
Chris Jeckel, Producer and Subject
Chris is a licensed attorney and global financial benefits strategist based in Chicago, Illinois. Chris leads strategy on employee benefits at a multinational engineering firm and is a passionate advocate for inclusion and blind rights. With a background in sketch comedy training from The Second City, he brings both creative energy and disciplined project management to the production. His lived experience is central to Touching the Sky, making the documentary a truly personal and impactful story
About the Roy W. Dean Grant
Since its inception in 1992, the Roy W. Dean Grant has provided over $2,000,000 in cash and donated film services to independent filmmakers. The grant is awarded to projects budgeted under $500,000 that demonstrate originality and social impact. With four grants awarded each year, the program serves as a crucial resource for independent filmmakers striving to complete their projects.
Past winners of the grant include winner of the 2025 Truer than Fiction Spirit Award Winner A Photographic Memory, 2021 Emmy winners Belly of the Beast and The Love Bugs, as well as Sundance Film Festival selection Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins, and acclaimed documentary Kusama-Infinity.
About From the Heart Productions
From The Heart Productions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to helping independent filmmakers secure funding and bring their projects to fruition. In addition to the Roy W. Dean Grant, the organization offers fiscal sponsorship, personal guidance, and free classes on fundraising and filmmaking. Through its fiscal sponsorship program, From the Heart has helped filmmakers raise over $30 million in donations for their films.
President Carole Dean is the best-selling author of The Art of Film Funding: 2nd Edition, Alternative Financing Concepts and the new online class Learn Producing: The Ultimate Course for Indie Film Production.
