November Rising

 

A scene from “Human Flow” Ai’s Weiwei’s documentary about the global refugee and migrant crisis.

The Fall season has been filled with climate disaster, political doom here and abroad, cries of terrorism, crazy acts of violence, fears of deportations, and every other day there is a new charge of sexual harassment and strife in Hollywood.

Serious stuff is happening and peoples’ lives and jobs are at stake. I am so proud of the many strong women and men who have come out and shared their stories, written intelligently and passionately, and most importantly started a movement, a movement for change.

November is also a month for the best movies to be trotted out for Academy Award consideration. This is the season for important and impactful films. But imagine a world where we could see stories that matter all year long, a world where superhero, sequels and tentpole films were only a small fraction of what was offered. Imagine a world where thoughtful character-driven stories and documentaries could be found in your local theatre. Imagine such a world that represented us all, a world where gender, language, physical ability and color do not set limitations, but rather reflect characters in complex truths.

If we imagine these scenarios, we can write and produce them for audiences to see and be inspired by. We can use the power of film, to change the narrative that we see in today’s’ headline s and push a political movement for change, equality and justice forwards. With the power of good storytelling and equal representation, 2018 may become a little brighter for us all.