Tiny
Growing up in poverty in Henderson, North Carolina, Tiny Broadwick’s childhood was anything but ordinary. Married at twelve, a mother by thirteen, and soon abandoned, she refused to let her life be defined by hardship. Determined to create a better future, Tiny made the painful choice to leave her daughter in the care of family and set out on a daring new path. She toured the country leaping from hot air balloons with homemade parachutes, then from airplanes when they were still experimental marvels. Working alongside aviation’s earliest pioneers, Tiny became the first person to make a free fall parachute jump and, in 1913—just a decade after the Wright Brothers’ first flight—she invented the ripcord, a lifesaving device that transformed aviation safety. Her innovations have saved countless lives and shaped the future of both military and sport parachuting. Yet history rarely spoke her name, often crediting men for what she achieved. Now, through newly uncovered archival material, a trove of photographs from her estate, and powerful firsthand accounts from family members speaking publicly for the first time, Tiny brings to light the untold story of the woman who risked everything to change the course of aviation.
Ken Oots | Producer
Director | Alex Hoelscher