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Hotelin at Disney: A New Way of Living

Uprooting your life after one storm is bad luck.  Displacement from a second natural disaster is unimaginable, but unfortunately this is the reality for many families.  Even families with savings accounts and plans for emergency situations can find themselves unprotected from the devastating effects of bad weather, and in certain circumstances, homeless.

A recent article from the Huffington Post describes one family’s unfortunate journey to homelessness caused by natural disasters:  “This family had started out in New Orleans, lost its home in Katrina, moved to Nashville and lost that home in the floods. At that point the parents figured they might as well leave the next choice of destination to their 7-year-old daughter. And so they’d arrived on the steps of Disney, where they [are] now renting one of the two beds in their room to a Vietnam vet for a few extra dollars.”

This article focuses on the growing issue of homeless families living in hotels around the Disney World Resorts in Central Florida.  “According to the U.S. Department of Education, at least 2,000 children live in the hotels of Central Florida…”

Central Florida attracts families in times of economic hardship because to some it is “the land of perfect weather and plentiful paychecks”.  But shortly after arriving, these families find themselves in a very different world than what they expected.

Without finding a secure job, “[these] families run up a big bill and move to another hotel down the road. They called it “hotelin’.”

The Huffington Post article states, “For homeless families the lack of stability is arguably the biggest obstacle on the path to a better life.”  The lack of stability is also a long-lasting and devastating effect on the children in these families.  The article sites several supporting studies that highlight the effects on the development of a child and the risk factors of an unstable environment.  A study conducted by the University of Chicago found that homeless children may move 3-4 times per year, and each move sets the child back about 6 months in their schooling.

Another study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that “children who live in poverty often have higher-than-normal levels of stress hormones, which can actually warp the architecture of the brain in ways that make these children more vulnerable to anxiety and depression and more prone to poor decision-making, and thus more likely to remain poor and to raise kids who will themselves remain poor.”  This instability creates more instability argues the article “Bringing up a child in the chaotic conditions of poverty must be something like building a skyscraper on quicksand. Instability begets instability begets instability.”

My authenticity was challenged in prison

My authenticity was challenged in prison. I wasn’t incarcerated for committing a crime, but I was certainly a prisoner of ignorance. It took the wisdom of an “outlaw” to set me free.

It was 2008 and Amelia and I were in Guatemala to receive our second adopted son, Elliot. We traveled to Guatemala several times during the course of our adoptions and were blessed to have a friend named Joel, who serves there as a missionary. We wanted to document the culture for our children, so we asked him to show us the real Guatemala – the non-touristy places. On this particular trip, Joel pulled out all the stops. He invited me to meet some gang members in a maximum security prison. To be honest, hanging out with gang members in a prison wasn’t on my bucket list. But I reluctantly agreed to go.

We were required to leave our passports with a guard at the front desk. This was the first of many uncomfortable experiences that day. My passport was the only identification which undeniably proved I was a US citizen, and not a permanent resident of the facility. But this unnerving experience pales in comparison to what followed. A guard took us down the back side of the prison, through several locked double gates. We were stamped on our arms after passing through each secured area. As we passed through the final air lock and turned the corner, my heart was racing. In front of me through heavy steel bars, was a long, dark, gym-like hall, lit only by a few small windows high above which were also covered with steel bars. It was like a anarchist’s nightclub. The air was thick with dense smoke and loud Reggaeton music growled from every cell. The guard opened the heavy gate and after we entered, he locked the gate behind us and disappeared. Joel explained that if the guard entered with us, that he would likely be killed by the gang members. I thought, “That is comforting, I don’t want to see anyone killed.” Just as that thought raced through my mind, I turned and was surrounded by over a hundred men tattooed like war paint from head to toe. I quickly remembered why this wasn’t on my bucket list.

Thankfully most of the gang members were distracted by the entertainment we brought with us – a dentist – with tools, but no anesthetics. He set up shop at the back of the cell block and began to work on teeth as each patient tried their best to look tough during the procedure. I stayed close to Joel. After all, he was friends with these guys. Slowly, I let my guard down – which is ironic, because I am certain I looked like a deer in headlights. I began to look past the tattooed faces and realized that many of these warriors were just kids. One gang member shared his story with me … and then … he challenged my own story.

He knew I was visiting with a missionary and said,

“You Christians are in a gang just like us. You follow a leader. You have symbols, language, customs and code – just like us. The difference between your gang and my gang is that you have the luxury of being a hypocrite. If we aren’t authentic to our gang, we’re killed.”

Wow. I had no response to that – only questions.

Who am I? What leader do I follow? Am I a hypocrite?

I quickly realized that had we not adopted our sons, they could have ended up in a prison like these young men … and I followed that train of thought back to my own life. If I had grown up with these limitations, I too would likely be in this prison. I would have made the same decisions as these gang members in order to survive.

I had to respond. I couldn’t just adopt my two sons and move on with my life. I was responsible for the things I had seen. I wasn’t a lawyer, doctor, or engineer. I couldn’t do those things. But I was a creative. I had other creative friends who could join me to tell stories that would expose needs and inspire response to make a difference. That’s how our organization Athentikos (Greek for authentic) was born to expose and inspire through the art of story.

What does it mean to be authentic? Here are a couple definitions:

Not false or copied; genuine; real: an authentic antique
Having the origin supported by unquestionable evidence

Authenticity is a powerful and humbling attribute, because being authentic reveals the good, the bad, and the ugly. It reminds us that we aren’t perfect and we can’t do everything on our own. Practically speaking, being authentic means acknowledging our strengths and weaknesses and confidently abiding in that identity to integrate into community with others. Like the young man told me in prison, being authentic identifies you with your “gang”. It undeniably links you your leader and connects you to others identified with you, who fill different roles.

In my case, being authentic means humbly being identified with Christ as my leader. I also means using my uniqueness in purposeful existence; it means using my creativity to tell stories that help solve problems. But it also means acknowledging my limitations and depending on others because I cannot do this on my own. I am only a small part of a much larger story.  Being authentic necessitates interdependency lived out in faith, hope and love.

Who are you?

What leader do you follow?

How can your authentic identity integrate into a solution with others to make a difference?

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Diving Into Documentary Production

Diving into documentary production is like diving into the ocean. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, but you can easily drown in it.

A year ago today I said goodbye to my family to spend 2 1/2 months in Guatemala producing Becoming Fools. At the time, I was anxious to get to Guatemala to start capturing the story. I had been directing the production from the US for a couple months and that proved to be quite frustrating. Every day there was a new conflict and obstacle that seemed to distract forward momentum. At least that’s what it felt like, because bad news travels fast – especially when you are trying to do something good. So, I hopped on a plane to dive into this film and immerse myself in something I felt called to do.

I thought my presence in Guatemala would somehow bring continuity to production. I thought that things would be easier once I was physically in the country. But, I thought wrong. Proximity to conflict doesn’t give you any advantage to control it. It wasn’t any easier. It was just a different kind of difficulty – and in many ways, even more difficult. I was simply closer to the waves that kept crashing down on everything and was quickly carried out to sea just like everyone else. But I know two things about waves that also hold true for documentary film production:

1. Don’t fight the current
2. Never swim alone

Charles Dickens was onto something when he wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness …” That prophetic description held true for the Becoming Fools production. It was grueling. It was stressful. It was absolutely heart wrenching at times. But, it was also one of the most joyful times of my life. I locked arms with close friends and purposefully dove into the crushing breakers with them because we believed in something greater than ourselves. We were all swept away by the crashing waves and pushed beyond our comfort zones. But somehow, “together was better” because we weren’t swimming alone. It was this community – this mutual trust and interdependency that gave us confidence to keep going in the face of enormous adversity. We all dove in together.

This is what you call irony – because in reality, none of us knew how to swim in the first place.

None of us had the capacity to accomplish the goal. All of us had failed at some point. We weren’t the dream team and at times it felt like a real nightmare. But somehow our group of incapable individuals was made capable, because it was called together by the One who makes all things possible. In this calling, my incapacity gives someone else strength … and vice versa, when we are committed to each other in the collaborative process.

But working together it isn’t easy. It’s ugly and full of dysfunction in the process. We all make mistakes at times and hurt each other in ways that would seem to prevent anything from being accomplished. A group of frightened people climbing on each other, gasping for air to survive in a surging tide will almost certainly drown each other. But we have a life raft if we will choose the right perspective. Somehow over the long run, the ugliness cancels itself out in a beautiful algebraic expression of grace, if the equation is built on a constant of God’s love. That love makes up for our mistakes and turns our pride of self ambition into a sacrifice for others. Thankfully, that love is a life raft big enough for all of us.

I dove into the ocean of documentary production hoping to make a difference in the lives of youth living in the streets. I’ve spent the last year being tossed around by a current I cannot control, and I still have no idea where it’s taking me. But, with help from my fellow fools, I’ll keep holding on to this life raft of love that transforms an ocean filled with broken people into an ark of redeeming grace, capable of bringing hope to distant shores.

You can join the story. Click below to give a tax-deductible donation to Athentikos.

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More Than A Trophy

We gained more than a trophy at the Omaha Film Festival.

Despite a total white-out blizzard, the turnout was pretty decent. Over 50 students, teachers, filmmakers, parents, grandparents, friends and family braved the snow to experience Becoming Fools in Omaha. We learned that there were at least another 100 people who planed to come, but couldn’t due to the snow. Ironically, Omaha enjoyed 60 degree weather every day prior to the Becoming Fools screening. That was an emotional hurdle, but we quickly accepted the fact that we don’t have any control over the weather.

I found myself at peace when the Becoming Fools title sequence began to play, despite knowing that the film was not yet entirely finished. There were still grammatical errors in the subtitles, audio in a few scenes needed to remixed, and none of the beautiful animation that our friend Beaux is working on, had been edited into the film. These things just couldn’t be finished in time for the screening. But in the scope of all the work already completed, these things were small – and hopefully, most people wouldn’t notice.

After the film ended I had the opportunity to answer questions from the audience. As a filmmaker, this is a golden opportunity to get feedback and gauge the impact. I was delighted to answer questions about the production and our motivation to produce the film. I even called attention to our son Micah as a visual aide, noting that children as young as him were living in the streets alone. I could sense the weight of this reality sinking in as members of the audience gasped and shook their heads in disbelief.

At one point, someone asked me if we had staged a specific scene in the film. I tried not to smile too much when I answered the question, because it was a legitimate thought. After all, the scene in question could seem “too good to be true”. I responded with something like,

“I know it could appear to good to be true, but in all honestly that is the way it happened. In fact, I wish I could have had some sort of control over the film, because I certainly would have done many things differently.”

But I didn’t have control … and I still don’t  (obviously – I mean … a blizzard on our screening day!) … and really … I will never have control.

The story captured and presented in Becoming Fools is an authentic depiction of chaos made beautiful by a God who knows a lot more, cares a lot more, and ultimately LOVES a lot more than I do. The film presents beautiful grace, but ultimately doesn’t end with everything wrapped in a bow. That simply isn’t reality. These kids are still living in the streets. Some of them are now purposefully in jail. Others have been admitted to the hospital for knife wounds. Their status has changed several times since we began post production, because that is the nature of life in the streets.

We hope to finish the film this month and begin planning a fall screening tour, but we don’t really have control over that either. We dug deep into savings to finish the film and don’t have the resources needed for a screening tour. But we trust that resources will be provided. We hope that others will choose to join us in Becoming Fools.

This journey has been chaotic and it’s been beautiful in the midst of chaos. We didn’t set out to tell this story because we knew how it would end. We simply felt called to authentically amplify the voices of these youth who live in the streets in the hopes that audiences would want to join the effort to make a difference. We didn’t win any awards at the Omaha Film Festival, but the audience affirmed our hope. Several people shared how the film inspired them to do something and engage the issue of at-risk youth. To us, that’s worth more than a trophy.

You can join the story. Click below to give a tax-deductible donation to Athentikos.

Real Social Innovation … Straight from TED Talks

In 2008, Athentikos was founded through a calling of authentic response to tell inspiring stories of hope through the art of story.  Over the years, we have sought to do so in a way that is self-sustaining.  But now, as we begin the process of marketing our second documentary, Becoming Fools, we are unfortunately little more self-sustaining than we were 5 years ago.  Why?  What role do we play in social innovation that brings positive change to the world around us while at the same time allows us to continue working in the way we feel called?  We have asked ourselves these questions so many times.  We have brainstormed for endless hours to develop new campaigns that will allow us to continue telling stories of hope.  And each time, we walk away with the same 3 solutions:  One, we need more money.  Two, we need more people.  And three, we need more time.  Other non-profit organizations we have met through our many endeavors face the same limiting and complicated roadblocks.  At times, it seems that in order to be a non-profit, your organization must face limited human and financial resources as well as time restraints.

BUT we haven’t lost hope.  And how could we?  Over the past 7 months throughout the editing process as I watched Becoming Fools, I was repeatedly reminded of the street kids’ hope in themselves, in the future, in the hope of something better, in the hope of change despite the odds stacked against them.  Then a few days ago, our good friend Joel Van Dyke sent us a video from TED Talks.  (I watched it immediately, as I fell in love with TED Talks after attending a TEDx Conference in Guatemala last year.)  This particular video Joel sent us was about social innovation, real social innovation.  The speaker, Dan Pallotta is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, author and social innovator himself.  His presentation challenged the audience on the role of the non-profit sector in the business world.

Pallotta began by posing the question:  Does the non-profit sector have a serious role to play in changing the world?  And if so, then why have non-profit organizations failed to make a large difference in the world?  Pallotta suggests that there is a double standard that prevents the non-profit sector from assuming a position powerful enough to reach large-scale social change.  He gives several staggering statistics to support his point:

• In the US, giving to charities has remained at 2% of the GDP since the 1970s.
• From 1970 to 2009, only 144 non-profit organizations crossed the $50 million annual revenue barriers while 46, 136 for-profit organizations crossed the same barrier.
• Poverty has remained stuck at 12% of the US population for the past 40 years.

Pallotta suggests that there is one rulebook for the non-profit sector, and a contrasting one for the rest of the world. He supports this point by addressing 5 specific areas in which there is a discrepancy between what is expected or allowed from the non-profit sector in contrast with what is expected or allowed from the rest of the world.  The major limitations placed on non-profits fall into the categories of compensation, advertising/marketing, risk taking, time and profit.  In addition to these limitations forced upon the non-profit sector, Pallotta warns against our nation’s obsession with keeping the overhead of charities and non-profit organizations low.  He explains the limitation of this obsession by sharing the history of a largely successful for-profit business, Amazon.

Amazon went their first 6 years in business without returning any profit to investors.  The investors waited patiently because there was a long-term goal they knew they could reach.  But what would happen to a non-profit organization if they went 6 years building their infrastructure before giving any money to the poor?  Pallotta’s answers: crucifixion.

Pallotta ends his presentation by stating:  “Our generation does not want its epitaph to read, we kept charity overhead low.”  With laugher and applause the crowd shows their agreement with this statement.  Obsession with overhead prevents a for-profit business from growing their team and their reach, which in turn grows their profit and benefit to society.  The exact same is true for a non-profit organization. The focus shouldn’t be on an organization’s overhead, Pallotta argues, but rather charitable and generous giving to mark this generation’s contribution to social innovation and change.  But what will it take to transform our nation’s minds from demanding a different business plan for non-profit organization than that allowed to for-profit businesses?

This video from TED Talks gave me new insight into the world of non-profit organizations.  It gave me inspiration and hope for Athentikos, for our future, for something better, for social innovation, for change.  I believe our mission is simple: to tell inspiring stories of hope through the art of story.  And our goal is clear: to inspire people to authentically respond in order that change may occur in the lives of those they help as well as in their own life.  The only thing left to figure out then is: how do we become a successful, self-sustaining organization that can continue to live out our mission and pursue our goal?

Watch Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong.

Click below to give a tax-deductible donation to Athentikos.

Love Lived Out On Film: Becoming Fools Review

Our supporters have kept us going through the ups and downs of production of Reparando and Becoming Fools.  It encourages us to hear the stories and see the ways God is using our films to inspire authentic response in the United States, Guatemala and around the world.  One of our faithful supporters is Kali Pliego.  She has deep ties to Guatemala as she started her own non-profit organization, Se Luz, in Santiago Sacatepequez, Guatemala.  She discovered Athentikos after the release of Reparando, and most recently was able to be a part of the first screening of Becoming Fools at the Omaha Film Festival in March.  From Minneapolis to Omaha, she drove 6 hours through the snow to be with us to premiere Becoming Fools.  Here is her reflection of the experience and Becoming Fools Review.

Becoming Fools Review from Kali Pliego

I was introduced to Athentikos when a friend posted something about their first documentary Reparando on facebook.  I, of course, am interested in anything related to Guatemala that I can get my hands on, so it did not take me long to get my own copy of Reparando.  Then naturally, when I heard about the new film, Becoming Fools, I was an early adopter.  I donated what I could afford during the pre-production Kickstarter campaign, and recruited others to do the same.

Sidenote: One of the perks given to me for my donation was a mention in the end credits of the finished documentary.  I didn’t think that mattered much to me until I actually saw my name up on the screen after having watched the film and just burning with pride to know that I supported the telling of this important story.

One day, I saw some photos posted to Facebook on the Athentikos page that made me take a second look.  I recognized one of the street youth in the pictures.  On several occasions between 2000 and 2005 I visited kids like these in Guatemala City with a friend who did ministry in the streets.  The day I saw the photos online, I dug out my old pictures to see if that was indeed the same guy.  After careful comparison, I am convinced that the young man in my pictures is the same one who showed up on facebook.  You could say I was already ‘all in’ on supporting Becoming Fools, but that day the film became personal.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit I am thoroughly biased and therefore probably not a very good film critic.  I have nothing negative to say about Becoming Fools.  I thought the storyline was laid out very well, weaving individual histories into the countdown of days until the show.  There was a palpable tension regarding both aspects of the documentary—would the street youth be able to pull this production off?  And, in the end, would everyone turn out okay?  Would these kids have their ‘happy ending’?

I have two favorite parts in Becoming Fools.  First is seeing the youth, who were preparing a clown performance to honor their mentor, in various shots just sitting in the seats of the Teatro Abril and letting the significance of the show sink in.  The Teatro Abril is Guatemala’s finest stage, normally reserved for high class, cultured performances.  And here we have a group of street youth, that is homeless, invisible, rejected, hurting kids pulling together to pay tribute to their beloved mentor, Italo, on that very stage.  I love the paradox of that.  Somehow the distance, some would call it disparity, between the street youth clown performers and their privileged audience adds to the significance of the event.  Second, I loved seeing the professional clowns and the director work with such dedication to and compassion for the street youth.

It was love lived out on film.

“Becoming Fools” is not just a cute title for this documentary.  I believe it is a mandate of scripture for all believers.  To the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).  He goes on to teach that it will be the fools who shame the wise in God’s kingdom and the weak who will shame the strong (v. 27).  We get a glimpse of this Truth in the documentary.   We see the power that ‘becoming fools’ has in the lives of each youth involved to bring them back to the childhood they had lost, and innocence that was forgotten long ago.  We see the youth reclaim dreams—of a reunited family, of getting off the streets and off of drugs.  Within the act of becoming fools, we’ve stumbled upon a key to unlock the chains that bind us.  What a beautiful message of hope!

Athentikos needs your help to bring Becoming Fools to your city for a screening.  I am committed, and have already sought out potential partnerships with homeless youth advocates in my city, Minneapolis, who may be willing to host a screening.  You see, while the setting of this documentary is in Guatemala, which may seem a million miles away, the theme of homeless youth hits very close to home, no matter what city that is.  I will do everything I can to spread the word about Becoming Fools and to spread awareness of this issue.  Will you join me?

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A Filmmaker’s Response to Film Festivals

Film festivals are a mixed bag when it comes the effectiveness of exposure for a film. On one hand, getting your film shown at a film festival instantly gains you a laurel, you know, one of those leafy little graphics wrapped around the film festival name. You’re proud to show it off on any postcard, movie poster and disc jacket you have done up for your film. Having more than one laurel (in other words, getting into more than one film festival) is like winning more than one gold medal, you just wear them all!

However, on the other hand, depending on the size of the festival, you’re a small fish in a huge ocean when it comes to having a decent size audience actually see your film. I personally have been at film festivals where the audience was packed, slam full. But on the other hand I’ve been in theaters where there was myself and about five others. And I can pretty much assume at least one of the five was the director and the rest was the director’s family.

Large or small, the best thing that can happen for you having your film at a film festival is to maximize the opportunities to learn, observe and network. Learn from other filmmakers and other professionals in the industry from their experience. Observe other films and talk to the filmmakers. Get an insight as to how they made their film and what their experience was like. And network with others, you never know who you will meet and how they may have an impact on your current and/or future projects.

I had the pleasure of accompanying Scott to see ‘Becoming Fools’ at the Omaha Film Festival. We made the 12 hour trek to the great city of Omaha just recently. The film was to show on the last day of the festival so we had three days prior to see what other films were showing and get a gauge of what other selections were made. We saw both narrative and documentary films. I will have to say I was pleased to see that not only films are still being made with little to no budgets but that the quality of the films are getting better, even on such tight financial constraints. Some narrative films hosted talent by working actors, some even in popular tv shows and other films you may have seen. I think it’s safe to assume that many actors and actresses are doing these independent films for the love of what they do and their love for the story. I’m encouraged by this as we look forward to future productions.

Omaha Film Festival is only in it’s either year so it’s not as large as others but having been there two years prior for the showing of ‘Reparando’ I will say it has grown. That said, the film we saw seem to have an average audience size of 50-75 people. Some of the documentaries we saw had less. But even the short films group seem to draw the most, I would guess to maybe 100-150.

We woke up on the day of the showing for ‘Becoming Fools’ to about 6 inches of snow and more was coming! The film was showing at noon and by the time we arrived at the theater a few more inches had fell and the wind was kicking up gail force winds. Needless to say we were told some groups of people we were expecting were not going to be able to make it. I for sure thought that it would only be Scott and I, Amelia and their boys, Darlene and our friend Major in the theater. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that not only our local friends and family showed up in support but people as far away as Minneapolis drove through the crazy snow storm just to see the film! All total we had 50 people, not bad!

I won’t say it was a total waste of time and effort. In fact, probably the opposite. We made a few more friends, got great feedback about the film and even planted a seed about where we are going from here to the festival producers. As I stated earlier, the best thing to do as a filmmaker at film festivals is to maximize your opportunities to learn, observe and network. I think we did just that!

Omaha Film Festival / Press Release

Athentikos heads to the Omaha Film Festival this week to premiere “Becoming Fools.” For those of you in the area (or know someone in Omaha), please join us in celebrating this story. Here is the press release for the film.

Filmmakers inspire hope in Guatemala by “Becoming Fools”

Non-profit organization, Athentikos, premieres feature-length documentary Becoming Fools at Omaha Film Festival on March 10, 2013 at 12pm.

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Spring Hill, TN (WEB) February 26, 2013 — Athentikos, a non-profit film production organization that exposes need and inspires hope through the art of story, is premiering their second documentary, Becoming Fools at the Omaha Film Festival on March 10, 2013 at 12pm.  This will be the first among many film festival premieres throughout the spring and summer.

Becoming Fools is the ultimate underdog story of comedy healing tragedy. Becoming Fools documents the lives of Guatemalan street youth who are joined by professional entertainers in preparing for a theatrical event to honor their fallen hero, Italo, whose passion for these children started a movement teaching the art of clowning as a way to rehabilitate lives and to show these children a father’s love.

“Clowns are not just associated with children, clowns really are children. So learning to clown helps reconnect these youth with their stolen childhood,” said Director, Scott Owen Moore. “Becoming Fools is a rally cry to take a risk and join in the effort to end child homelessness. We’ve already seen the power of this story to unite people in this important cause.”

The filming of Becoming Fools further ignited a movement in Guatemala set to empower youth living in the streets to rise above their situation.  Over 20 diverse organizations now meet monthly to discuss ways they can work together in serving street youth.

Athentikos hopes to premiere Becoming Fools throughout the US during a fall & winter screening tour.

See the trailer here.

Contact: Scott Moore / smoore@athentikos.com / Athentikos / 615-852-8326

The Official Becoming Fools Movie Trailer

Drum roll, please …. After much anticipation, we are thrilled to release the official Becoming Fools Movie Trailer.

We’re not yet finished with the film, but we’re close. It’s in the final phase of post-production: coloring, music, mixing, animation, art, and credits.

After a year of pre-production and research, 6 months of production and 6 months of editing and post-production, we are rounding the turn towards the finish line. My heart has swung through all emotions imaginable over the course of this journey – from loving the story, to absolutely hating it, to loving it again.

The production phase is my favorite. It is a time when we are out in the world together, collaborating, capturing a story and experiencing the richness of community. It’s hard work, but somehow we don’t notice because we are together. You should hear the laughter at 2 AM when we’re logging footage, after a 12 hour shoot in a dirty environment … and the water is off, so you can’t take a shower before bed. It is a true joy!

Then there is the flip side. If production is a joy because of community, then editing is the Alcatraz prison of loneliness. To be honest, I often wrestle with depression while editing a film. It is a long period of isolation in the “editing cave” with only small spurts of community when we evaluate the film. And because those small doses of community are focused on critically evaluating the film, it usually results in me having to spend more time editing in isolation. Don’t get me wrong. I greatly value constructive criticism during the process and want our films to be the best they can be! It just begins to take its toll after 6 months of 16 hour work days. Needless to say, I am very glad that I can see the light at the end of the editing tunnel!

After all this work, the film is slightly different than we originally imagined. But, this is normal because you never have control over all the production elements in a documentary. In this case, we were thrown some pretty big wild cards during production. I compared it to riding a wild bull. We just held on tight, kept the cameras rolling, and prayed we were capturing what we needed to tell a great story. Thankfully, we captured some great stuff!

During a recent Athentikos meeting, we engaged in a deep and honest discussion about the film. We asked some  tough questions ….

Is this a compelling story?

Does this film achieve what we set out to do?

Is the story depicted in the final edit the same story we passionately felt called to produce in the beginning?

It was unanimous. Even though the story is different than we initially imagined, it compellingly accomplishes the goal we set out to achieve. This is the story God called us to tell.

It’s full of warm characters, beautiful tension and redemption that we couldn’t have written better if we wrote it as a narrative. It still makes me cry … and I have seen it thousands of times over the course of editing! So, either I am completely off my rocker, or this story truly connects to the heart.

As we work diligently to wrap up the final details in this project, I have mixed emotions. I’ve committed 2 years of my life to developing, filming and editing this story. I’ve grown to love these street youth as dear friends. Their delicate charm has captured my heart! I would love for this film to raise awareness and bring needed resources to this issue! But, I have no idea what will become of it all.

We raised enough funding to get through production. But we still lack the financial resources to release the film. Unfortunately, we can’t subsidize this next phase with our sweat equity. Unless we receive additional funding, we will be forced to put the film on hold. We truly believe this story has the potential to make a difference in the lives of street youth around the world. But we need your help … will you consider giving a donation?

As of right now, we only have one official film screening planned. Let’s make it count!

Becoming Fools will screen at the Omaha Film Festival on Sunday March 10 at 12:15 PM.

Gather your friends and meet us there! If you are too far away to attend, please help us make noise so we can try to fill the theater. Use every means necessary to tell people about this opportunity to see the film: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, phone calls, post cards, smoke signal … and especially talking face to face!

Please watch the trailer and share it. Give a donation if you can. Work with us to help bring the film to your city. Let’s become fools together and make a difference!

Give a tax-deductible donation to help us release the film.

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Tie-Dye Banner at Art Camp 2012

This year I wanted at Art Camp to create a memorable art masterpiece as a group that would be a reminder throughout the year of the fun we had, the friends we made and the lessons we learned.  Through much planning and experimenting, I came up with the idea to create a tie-dye banner to hang in the schools in La Limonada in Guatemala City.  Throughout the process, I knew what I wanted the finished product to look like, but having never done anything like this, I was unsure of exactly how it would turn out.  The final result was more than I could have EVER imagined and I am so happy the kids can look at their beautiful group art work everyday in the schools!

First step to making the banners was getting the material ready.  I bought 5 yards of plain white muslin.  Muslin is REALLY awesome because you can tear on the bias.  Tearing the fabric makes creating 100+ strips of fabric so much easier.  After I had tons of strips of muslin.  I cut each strip in thirds, giving me ~135 pieces of 3 inch x 30 inch strips.  I wasn’t exactly sure how we were going to mount the banner, but I knew the easiest way would be to hang the material on something.  Therefore, I sewed 1 inch pockets on top and on the bottom of each strip.  After several hours of sewing, I was off to JoAnn’s to buy fabric dye.  I purchased several different brands to get the colors I wanted (JoAnn’s was a little low on their stock of fabric dye).  And that was all the work I did before going to Guatemala.  Because of limited room in my luggage and our budget, I didn’t purchase containers to mix the dye or to use to apply to dye for the fabric.  I also waited until arriving in Guatemala to purchase rubber bands and salt.  We waited until we were at Art Camp to start collecting plastic water bottles for the dye.

A couple of hours before we were going to tie-dye, we starting mixing the dye.  We gathered about 50 plastic bottles (some water, some Coke, some juices, etc) and started filling each bottle with hot water from the bathroom sink!  We added 1/2 of the package of the dye and one bottle cap full of salt (to fix the dye to the material) to the bottle fill with water….and then shake, shake, shake and shake.  The dye we used called for boiling 140° water, but we just used really hot bathroom sink water and hoped that with shaking really hard we would get the same result.  After we had mixed all the dye, we separated each bottle into 2 bottles, half the mixture in one and half in the other, and then filled the bottle up again with hot water and shook some more.  We repeated this separation and refill step again with some of the really dark colors or colors we wanted more of.  Most of the dyes we were using say you can dilute the dye mix with 3-4 gallons of water, but we wanted really vibrant colors so we didn’t use that much water.  We then poked a tiny whole in the top with a push pin.

We gave each kid (and most of the adults) a white strip of materials and some rubber bands.  And this is where all the fun starts.  Tie-dye is created by using the material and dye to create patterns, and there are endless numbers of different ways to do it.  We explained to the kids that every one could come up with their own technique for folding the material.  You can roll, fold, wrinkle, twirl, swirl or squish the fabric as you wish and then bind with rubber bands to hold that pattern while you apply the dye.  We then went into the grass (for easy clean-up and limited mess on the floor from the dye).  Everyone chose 2 colors and sprayed their fabric as they wished.  We had everyone only choose 2 colors so that we could create a “rainbow” or gradient look with the strips of fabric at the end.  It is much easier to organizes strips in color order with 2 colors than with 3, 4, 5 or lots of colors.

Then we waited.  We let the fabric sit rolled, folded or swirled on a table overnight.  And then let each kid open a strip the next day.  We didn’t bother with names or who’s was who’s.  We encouraged the kids to see this project as a group project and TOGETHER we were creating something beautiful.  It wasn’t important who had the most beautiful strip or who’s was the most creative because each piece was equally as important in creating the final product.  I used this time to explain to the kids that the project is much like their life.  They are all different but together than can be the beautiful future of their community and their country.  The kids at camp are from different rival areas in La Limonada, and while in La Limonada are not allowed to cross area boundaries because of gang violence.  However, at camp they are free and develop close relationships with one another.  It is these relationships that can change the future of their community, La Limonada.

After Art Camp, we assembled all the strips into banners for the schools.  We hung that at the Art Show and then hung them in the schools before we had to leave.  The banners are absolutely beautiful on the walls, and I hope they do remind the kids of Art Camp whenever they look at them!  ValorArte 2012 was an unforgettable experience.  I am so happy to have been a part of it again, and I hope and pray everyday that next year we are able to give the amazing experience of Art Camp to the kids of La Limonada again.  Fundraising has started, and we have a long way to go.  If you are interested in sponsoring a child to go to Art Camp or would like more information, please contact me at ericha@athentikos.com.

Photography by: Sara Harper and Amelia Moore