“Fly Like a Girl,” an independent film produced by Matt Wiatt ’01 that features Bolles STEM advocate and one-day astronaut Taylor Richardson ’22, will be released worldwide in theaters and on-demand October 9. The film, which screened locally last November at the 2019 Jacksonville Film Festival, won several awards at more than 12 different festivals across the country that year.

The “Deadline Hollywood” entertainment news site reported independent film distributor Gravitas Ventures recently acquired worldwide rights to “Fly Like a Girl.” That opened the door to an October 2020 release in theaters around the globe.

According to the story, the film “features firsthand stories from girls and women who dared to aim higher in male-dominated vocation.” Wiatt filmed an interview with Richardson, who has made a name for herself internationally as an advocate of girls in STEM,  nearly three years ago on the Bolles Middle School Bartram Campus. Parts of Richardson’s story are woven into the film, which documents “movement of young girls and women relentlessly pursuing their passion for aviation.”

In addition to Richardson, the film features interviews with United States Senator Tammy Duckworth, veteran NASA astronaut Nicole Scott, American aviator, aspiring astronaut and American advocate for STEAM education Abigail Harrison and U.S. national aerobatic champion Patty Wagstaff.

“If you ask someone to name as many female aviators as they can think of, most would only be able to say Amelia Earhart. There are so many women beyond Amelia both modern and historical that have played an important role in the aviation and STEM world. Fly Like a Girl brings some of these women’s stories to light,” said director Katie McEntire Wiatt.