With wanderlust in her blood and skydiving the love of her life, Carson pursued her passion at dropzones across the West. She finally settled in Kalispell, Montana and was one of the founders of Lost Prairie Skydive Center - now home to one of the top 5 skydiving boogies in the world.Tragically, Carson passed away there in 1981 in a skydiving mishap shortly after it opened. She was 30 years old at the time. The cause of her double malfunction remains a mystery.
""Ride The Sky" captures the culture of skydiving in the 70's as it retraces Joan's skydiving footsteps, beginning in Montana, and works its way backward, digging into her past and the events that motivated her," said Gorman.
Gorman, who knew Carson at Redmond High School spent time with her while she was living in San Francisco. While there, he dreamt that she had a fatal skydiving mishap. He was deeply affected years later at the news of her passing. "Her fatality shocked me. She was one of my first classmates to depart, and it was one of those events that stays with you the rest of your life," said Gorman.
Gorman wanted to understand the meaning of his dream and what drove Carson to continue skydiving after suffering two serious accidents. "I was curious as to the reason she took the risks she did and why she would continue doing something that caused her so much pain," said Gorman.
It was after learning that while in her 20's, Carson and several of her skydiving friends had built their own airfield, hangar, and skydive center in the Montana wilderness, that Gorman was hooked.
"I was impressed with her accomplishments and adventurous spirit. The fact that Joan would follow her passion from the safety of the suburbs of Redmond, WA, to the sophistication of San Francisco, and then to the wilderness in Montana - where she built her own airport and skydive center - convinced me that her story was bigger than my own personal interest and had universal appeal. It was then that I decided to make a film about her," said Gorman.
Gorman says "Ride the Sky" appeals to a broad range of ages and both sexes equally. "It's one of those films that has broad appeal because we admire people who live out their dream, and Joan did."
A Montana newspaper article about the film was instrumental in bringing together a long lost member of the Carson with family members she had never known.
"Ride The Sky" makes its pay-per-view Internet debut on December 1, 2015 at: http://raincitycinema.com