WICHITA, KAN — The Wichita Association for Motion Picture Arts and the Tallgrass Film Festival announces the Tallgrass Third Thursday screening for March: The Horse Boy, directed by Michel Orion Scott. The screening, co-hosted by the Flint Hills Therapeutic Riding Center (FHTRC), takes place at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 18 at the home of the Riding Center, the Murfin Stables, on the southeast corner of 143rd Street east and 13th Street north. The screening will be preceded with a wine and cheese reception from 6 to 7 pm with music by the Celtic band, Knocknasheega, and the film immediately followed by a question and answer session led by Theresa Flaigle of the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association. This event is a fundraiser for both the Tallgrass Film Festival and the Flint Hills Therapeutic Riding Center and tickets are available at the door on the evening of the event. Tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for seniors and students.

An intensely personal yet epic spiritual journey, The Horse Boy follows one Texas couple and their autistic son as they trek on horseback through Outer Mongolia in a desperate attempt to treat his condition with shamanic healing. When 2-year-old Rowan was diagnosed with autism, Rupert Isaacson, a writer and former horse trainer, and his wife, Kristin Neff, a psychology professor, sought the best possible medical care for their son — but traditional therapies had little effect. Then they discovered that Rowan has a profound affinity for animals — particularly horses — and the family set off on a quest for a possible cure.

The Horse Boy is part travel adventure, part insight into shamanic tradition and part intimate look at the autistic mind. In telling one family’s extraordinary story, the film gives voice to the thousands who display amazing courage and creativity every day in the battle against the mysterious and heartbreaking epidemic. The film companion to Isaacson’s best-selling book of the same name and a festival favorite, the ravishing documentary odyssey gives insight into how, in life’s darkest moments, a gateway to joy and wonder can be found. http://www.horseboymovie.com/

The Horse Boy premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival where it was an Official Selection and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for documentary filmmaking. Since then, the film has played at numerous film festivals including Silverdocs and won the Audience Award at South by Southwest Festival. It was released Sept. 30 in theaters across the country by Zeitgeist Films. The book, “The Horse Boy: A Father’s Quest to Heal His Son” was written by Rupert Isaacson and published in spring 2009. It is now an international bestseller.