About the Project

The Story

Rodeo Champion | Quadriplegic | Renowned Artist

“Broken Cowboy” will tell the story of Matt Clark. He will take us through his life’s journey, both Darkness & Light to an uncertain future.

About the Film

“Broken Cowboy will be a feature length movie.

• With never-before-seen documentary footage
• First person storytelling
• Cinematic Reenactments 

More about the Project

About Matt Clark

Powerful art is spiritual. It invites us to internalize and interact—to put ourselves into the journey rather than merely observe someone else’s story. My purpose as an artist is not to create things of beauty, but to uncover essence. I don’t focus on holding up mirrors of life; I express interpretations of life through universal symbols.

Those interpretations are deeply rooted in my own life experience. As a child and teenager, I dreamed of becoming a world champion cowboy, but at age 17, I experienced a serious spinal cord injury. After more than two months in the ICU and six months in spinal rehab, the doctors dismissed me to a rest home and gave me three years to live. Medicine offered me no hope for a future, but something deep inside me said, “Wait a minute. I am going to define my life.”

Fourty six years later, I still work from a wheelchair. My physical limitations have required me to create my own tools and processes for doing things, but my accident has also given me the opportunity to recreate myself and my world. This is perhaps expressed best by the inscription on my sculpture The Healer, displayed at the Craig Hospital Healing Garden in Denver, Colorado: “My body has been broken and may not heal, but my spirit can and will transcend my limitations.”

The metal objects I use in my art were originally created to perform a specific function. At some point, they outlived their usefulness, were broken, and lost their value. I surround myself with them and ask the question “What is the best purpose for this object?” I search for each piece’s innate power and then resurrect it and give it a new reason to be. For me, the transformation of these objects is symbolic of my own journey—of ultimately transcending broken dreams and heartache. My artistic process is a reenactment of my life journey. I think that has power in people’s lives.

About Bristlecone Films

“Broken Cowboy” will be Produced and Directed by Award Winning Filmmaker Phil Tuckett through his Production Company: Bristlecone Films

Phil Tuckett is President of Bristlecone Films LLC, in St. George, Utah. He and his wife Judy have worked in the documentary film production business for 56 years.

Tuckett’s film career started while he was a player for the San Diego Chargers in 1969. A chance meeting with Ed Sabol, the President of NFL Films, led to a 38 year career with the legendary Mt. Laurel, New Jersey production company.

During his tenure at NFL Films, Tuckett won 30 Emmy Awards for producing, directing, writing, editing, and cinematography on films like “Football America”, “100 Yard Universe”, “Autumn Ritual”, and “Lost Treasures of NFL Films”.

As Vice President of Special Projects, he also produced and directed non-sports related programming including “Blood from a Stone” for the History Channel, “Faces of Evil” for TNT, and music videos for a diverse roster of artists such as Journey, Def Leppard, the Black Crowes, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Metallica.

In 2008, Tuckett left NFL Films to start a film program at his Alma Mater, Dixie State University. During his teaching experience at Dixie, he with his staff and students, produced seven full length documentaries about the American Southwest which comprise a series called “The High desert Chronicles”.

Today, Phil & Judy produce exclusively through Bristlecone Films. Their current project “Broken Cowboy” is in development for a 2026 release.