CLEVELAND — They did it!
Filmmakers Austin Tucker and Taylor Taglianetti have raised the money needed to finish "What's Next," a documentary about 101-year-old Cleveland neurologist Dr. Howard Tucker, Austin's grandfather. The pair exceeded their fundraising goal in 43 days with the help of 254 backers.
Tucker is still teaching medical students at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He also became a TikTok sensation, racking up more than 36 million views on his video put together by his grandson and Taglianetti.
"There are no words to describe how thankful we are that everyone was able to rally together and get this to the finish line," Austin Tucker said.
Now, they'll finish editing and hope to have the 90=minute film released by February of 2024. They've been filming for two years, and even Dr. Tucker hasn't seen it yet.
"We haven't shown him any of the footage yet, because we want him to be surprised," Austin admitted to 3News. "So we're looking forward to being able to share this with him."
Taglianetti says she's learned much from Dr. Tucker, and this film has a mission, too.
"Age is just a number, and it's all in the attitude," Taglianetti said. "We are passionate about people really valuing our seniors. We should not overlook them, we should not under value them, and if they have a will to contribute to the world, then we should provide them with the resources to do just that."
To learn more about the film click on these links: