Friend is a full feature narrative film that showcases human compassion at its core; moving beyond judgement and bullying into a place of self-love and acceptance.
NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Race - Age - Sexuality - Appearance - Gender Identity - Religion - Age - Hierarchy
These are all encompassing characteristics that we perceive in our modern day society. We no longer live in a world where we do not have access to information, on the contrary, it sits comfortably in the palm of our hands. The days of writing snail mail letters to friends while on vacation hundreds of miles away have passed. Instead, we send instant messages, that travel at the speed of light miles above the earth to reach across the oceans. I remember as a kid reaching in that nearly empty coin jar to fish out the last dime just in case I needed to call my mother from a pay phone. Now I find myself refusing nickels as change because I don’t want them sitting in my back pocket. After all, that spot is reserved for my phone charger.
We are no longer the same humans we used to be ten years ago. The world does not feel so incomprehensible; we are connected. It is how we adapt to this sudden accelerated change of social norms that is most important. Despite all of our perceived differences, we must remember what we all share in common … The Human Experience. As humans we are never truly perfect, although we strive to be. Along the way, we are eager to find faults in others to help to mask our own shame and short-comings. It is much easier to project our insecurities onto those around us (providing us a temporary feeling of power and control), rather than taking a good look in the mirror and being honest with ourselves. It is when we are not honest with ourselves, that bullying seizes the opportunity to thrive.
As we have evolved with technology, so has the way we bully one another. Bullying has evolved from a more physical form of attack to a psycological means of empowerment. It all comes back to my personal experience when I was younger. I was riding the school bus home and the popular kid thought it would be empowering for him to spit on my face in front of everyone. It was a physical act that mortified me. Fortunately, I had the 1990’s on my side. There were no "smart phones" to take photos, record video,Tweet, post to Facebook, Blog, Instagram, Tumbler, Youtube, Vimeo, Pinterest, MySpace, Skype, IM, FaceTime, this list goes on! My bullying experience could have been exponentially worsened had it happened in the present day.
That is why it is so important for me to make this film. Our goal is to showcase the struggles of present day teens, and adults for that matter, being bullied with the technology that we have all embraced. After all, bullying does not discriminate. We hope you will join us on this exciting artistic adventure!
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The inspiration
Two powerful interviews filmed by director Elliot London that started the Movement.
"I remembered why I want to live."
Joseph's story on being bullied.