"I Am"

I was lucky enough to crash the Virginia Film Festival yesterday in Charlottesville with a fellow Virginia Film Office intern. She just happens to also have an internship with Virginia Living magazine (she's superwoman) and let me come along as her photographer. I was so thankful for this invitation and it turned out that it meant more to me than I expected.

First we saw Beauty & the Beast, my all-time favorite Disney movie, and afterward Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle, came and talked after the viewing. It was really neat to hear her talk about how she contributed to one of my favorite films. And, fun little fact, I learned that the voice of the Beast, Robby Benson, also directed one of my favorite TV shows, FRIENDS.


After capitalizing on the free lunch we went to see a second film, a documentary called "I Am". The director, Tom Shadyac is most known for his comedy features, "Ace Ventura", "Evan Almighty", and "Nutty Professor". A few years ago, he received a concussion from a bicycle accident that caused a seemingly lasting depression and loss of will to live. After trying everything, he gave up, and with time, for no reason at all, the symptoms began to disappear. This event changed the way he looked at life. He set out to make a doc attempting to answer two questions: "What is wrong with this world?" and "How can we fix it?". I can't even begin to explain this film in any detail that would even remotely reveal how powerful it was. He used interviews by well-known writers, leaders, and scientists as well as scientific evidence to prove that the "human connection" exists and that this is our most powerful tool to end poverty, world hunger, and violence. The energy we send out by doing a good deed spreads to those around us and it has been scientifically tested that this energy effects our hearts and our brains. The basic idea was that the world is run too much by the idea of "me" and "wealth". He encouraged us not to feel that by helping a single homeless person that we pass on the street makes no difference in the world. This energy spreads, he says.

After the film, he did a Q & A with the awestruck and inspired audience. He is an incredible individual and he quite literally changed my life. This documentary changed my life. And I encourage everyone to see it. It's power is immeasurable. It will be released in theaters in select cities in February and then released to DVD. I assure you, it will be worth your money to purchase it if you're not in a city where it hits theaters. Let it change your life. This is a guy who used his gift to empower and enlighten us through his journey and investigations. The website iamthedoc.com does not currently have any trailers up, but keep checking and you can still check out the other stuff on the film.


Below I posted a short video of him talking to the audience after the film.