Discover Your Bliss

LA Film Festival - Billy the Kid

The director of Billy the Kid made her living as a street casting agent (she specialized in casting real background/extras for films for a more realistic look and feel instead of hiring extras through a casting agency). 

One of her assignments brought her to a small town in Maine where she spent many-a-day sitting in a high school cafeteria observing the students.

Curious as to why some students sat at specific lunch tables while others were not allowed to intermingle, the soon-to-be director started asking questions.

After approaching a table of "jocks," she asked about who was allowed at their table and who wasn't.  They told her of an incident when one student (obviously not allowed at their table) sat at their table and as a result, they beat him up. 

She asked them to point to the student.  They pointed to a boy sitting alone eating his lunch. 

The director decided to question the outcast boy and soon saw a personality larger than life and a genuine curiosity began to grow. 

After completing her casting assignment for the short film (which included Billy), the director returned to the small town and filmed Billy as her primary subject.  The result - Billy the Kid.

Billy is a typical 15-year-old in many aspects - plays air guitar, loves wrestling and thinks of girls every waking moment of every day - yet we soon discover that there's something a bit different about Billy as his past trickles in referencing behavioral problems, institutionalization, and treatment.

Although many of Billy's past and current challenges may be more than most adults can handle, it's Billy's quirky, insightful and compassionate personality that shines through.

His brief romance with a girl at the local coffee shop (which included a walk around the block, Billy's constant visits as a customer and an all-too-sweet moment when Billy walks her behind a building out of sight - yet not without his microphone - and asks her to be his girlfriend; she says, "Yes," then there's a quick peck-on-the-cheek sound before they return) ends within days.  The coffee shop girl felt they were moving too quickly.

Billy never allows his challenges to get in the way of is wise-beyond-years personality.  His answers to many questions are mature and profound and by the end of the film, you begin wonder if the world would be a better place if there were more Billys. 

I invite you to pay attention today for any challenges that may occur.  What do you do?  Do you keep going or stop in your tracks?  How can you gain inspiration from Billy and walk through (instead of around) the challenges?

I'd love to hear your discoveries and comments! 

P.S. If any of the films I've blogged about spark your interest, you can visit the Los Angeles Film Festival web site for more specific information.  You might look for film festivals in your area or Google the specific film to find the film's web page that might offer more up-to-date information.

   

LA Film Festival - Resolved

What do think of when you hear: High School Debate?  Boys in blazers?  Well-crafted arguments? 

In the documentary, Resolved, we are introduced to the crazy world of debate (sometimes speaking up to 400 words per minute) and two guys that set out to debate the topic of debate.

The two students from Long Beach set out to change the current style of debate (both are wise beyond their years). 

When they start to ask the challenging questions and engage the opposing team to become part of the debate, most people become speechless. 

Even the vocabulary of the Long Beach debators is fearless.  If you want to see someone coming from a place of intention - it's the Long Beach debate team.

Their goal isn't to win, but to make people think and fully participate in the debate topics.

Sure the Long Beach debate team could play by the rules and win every competition, yet they choose to take that first step in creating change. 

Being a visionary isn't always the easy road, yet in the case of the Long Beach team, it's the road to freedom that counts. 

Hopefully, Resolved will be picked up (for distribution) and come to a theater near you.  I highly recommend it.

What would it look like to take the road less traveled and show up as your own visionary?  How can standing in freedom and creating your own path in life not only support you but also those around you?

I'd love to hear your comments! 

If you'd like to view the trailer for Resolved, click here.

LA Film Festival - Pool of Princesses

Talk about being thrown for a loop.  When I saw Pool of Princesses, I thought it was a fictional/narrative film, yet during the Q & A with the director, I soon realized it was a documentary.

The LA Film Festival description: 

"Sitting by a public pool in Berlin, three 15-year-old girls check out boys and discuss the day's activities.

Friends since kindergarten, Klara, Mina, and Tanutscha seem to know everything and nothing about life, confident in their growth out of childhood but completely vulnerable and uncertain in the face of the future."

All three girls in the film are lost and hold fast to the struggles of their past and allow it to shape their future. 

Klara serves community service at a local cafe for stealing 2000 Euros from her grandmother (she did it for some boys). 

None of the girls aspire to anything above drinking, smoking and looking for boys for the majority of the film. 

Most of them wear their badge of honor like a shiny brass star - polishing it for all to see. 

After some encouragement from each other, family and instructors, the girls slowly begin to see that they can do something with their lives and aren't destined for destruction. 

Through the support of others, the girls eventually gain some strength to understand that it is possible to be their own cheerleaders which translates into them following their dreams (with baby steps). 

How can you be your own cheerleader?  How do you know what healthy outside support looks like? 

No one can be fearless alone.  Rhonda Britten

I invite you to explore what support from others looks like from a place of fear and a place of freedom.  How will you know the difference in the moment? 

I'd love to hear your comments and discoveries.

LA Film Festival - Shorts Program 2

My three favorite shorts in Shorts Program 2 might be considered drastically different on the surface, yet all three films have one thing in common: risk + living in the unknown = growth. 

The first short hails from Argentina and is a quick three minutes long.

I love how the LA Film Festival describes Lapsus:

"A curious nun ventures into the darker side of her animated world."

Half of the background is white, while the other half is black.  The nun hasn't ventured to the "dark side," yet it is apparent that she's curious. 

Her nervous hands and mumbling communicates that stepping into the unknown is a risk for her (from Stretch*Risk*Die).  When she steps into the "dark side" all that is black on her goes away and only the white remains (you see and hear her head bouncing).

After many transformations between the black and white, the nun finally becomes "whole again."  Her willingness to step into the unknown, risk and embrace the process, supported the nun's growth.

Talk about an entertaining short with subtle meaning.

If you'd like to see a trailer for Lapsus, click here.

Probably one of the more elaborate shorts, Pariah follows a teenage girl's struggle with her sexual identity while living at home in the Bronx.

The teenager constantly lives in the unknown - never knowing who will accept or reject her - and takes several risks in order to discover her essential self.

When her family finally confronts her about her sexuality, she courageously risks everything and speaks her truth.  It is not only the first time for her to speak it to her family, but also the first time she has accepted it as part of her identity.

Amazing acting, humor and high drama makes Pariah worth viewing.

To watch the trailer for Pariah, click here.

Hairlady follows one hairy man (full beard and head of hair) to the door of the "hairlady."  He follows her to a barbershop where she commands the barber to "cut it all off." 

After the man is cleanly shaven and bare-headed, the hairlady takes out a bag and collects the hair.  The man follows her back to her apartment and repeats the process.

The hairy man took a risk living in the unknown and trusted the wisdom of the hairlady. 

If you'd like to see the trailer for Hairlady, click here.

By practicing living in the unknown and risking, the characters grew as the result of their willingness to embrace the process.  Were they free from fear?  I doubt it.  Each character felt the fear and did it anyway. 

How could living in the unknown, risking and embracing the process support your growth?  What's one thing you're willing to practice today to get closer to "being comfortable being uncomfortable?" 

I'd love to hear your discoveries, comments and first steps. 

LA Film Festival - Join Us

How well do you know yourself?  Could you say with certainty that you would never do something?  What if you life depended on it?

How important is it for you to be loved and belong?   

The LA Film Festival describes Join Us as:

"A devastating examination of the extreme lengths to which we'll go for a sense of belonging and belief follows Sullivan, his extended family, and another couple to a retreat facility where they try to understand how they came to slowly cede their lives and autonomy to their minister, Raimund Melz.

As they learn how their quaint Christian congregation actually fits the definition of a cult, the families deal with wracking fear, anger, and confusion as well as their guilt about the brutal punishments “Pastor” prescribed for their children.

Things only get harder when the supervised gathering is over and they must attempt to re-imagine lives that had been totally dominated by an all-encompassing system."

Join Us shows how the lack of a connection in self can be dangerous.  This film illustrates the importance of awareness and ability to think independently.  The subjects in the film gave away their freedom in order to be loved and belong. 

If you'd like to see a the trailer for Join Us, click here.

I Invite you to explore your connection to your inner knowing and soul.  What's something you can do to support yourself to know when you're giving away too much of yourself or allowing others to influence your thoughts and actions?

Get creative - make a list and plan to review it when you're confused, stuck, etc. as a gentle reminder to support yourself to have the awareness and walk back into freedom (proactive tool). 

If you do not make the connection until after the event is over, then jot down what happened, how long it took you to have the awareness and the intention. This way, you will have a measuring point for your progress and can begin to embrace your awareness and close the gap (and soon you'll have the awareness prior to your action). 

I'd love to hear your discoveries and comments!

   

 

LA Film Festival - Shorts Program 1

Two of my favorite shorts in Shorts Program 1 had similar themes:  overcoming challenges in love.

The LA Film Festival describes Death to the Tinman as:

"This dark and romantic tale recounts how lumberjack Bill became the Tin Man and lost his heart, his life and his lover but never gave up."

As lumberjack Bill slowly became the Tin Man, he not only had to overcome the challenges that followed replacing his body parts with tin, but also the ever-changing love relationship he had with his lover as a result.

His lover stayed with him through most of the tin changes, yet she couldn't see the person she loved once he was made of tin (she wanted the physical more than what was inside). 

Out of love (aka as fear in this case), the Tin Man cut out his heart (the person she loves) and put it into the physical body that she preferred.  The Tin Man sacrificed who he was for someone else's (false) happiness. 

I do not consider this a choice in freedom, although I did enjoy the short quite a bit.  Death to the Tinman is an all-too familiar representation of what happens when fear is given the power to choose.      

My other favorite short from this collection is Mono.

The LA Film Festival describes Mono as:

"Two solitary neighbors make an unconventional connection through the thin wall dividing their apartments."

Mono is a wonderful example of taking baby steps and embracing the process.  Although the majority of their connection is through sound and divided by walls, the two begin to have fun with the "getting to know you" process.

Eventually, baby steps add up to overcome the challenge of meeting in person.  Ahhhh, the sweet embrace of freedom.

If you'd like to see the trailer for Mono, click here.

How do you embrace a challenge?  Are you more like the Tin Man or like the couple in Mono? 

"Honor your feelings and act on your commitments."  Rhonda Britten

Where can you embrace your process and practice honoring your feelings, while acting on your commitments? 

I'd love to hear your discoveries and comments!

LA Film Festival - Razzle Dazzle

If there ever was a film that clearly illustrates fear verses freedom, then it's called Razzle Dazzle. 

Here's how the LA Film Festival describes this mockumentary: 

“There's no reason why a routine about the oppression of women in Afghanistan can't have a little glamour,” chirps dance instructor Mr. Jonathon in a biting mockumentary of the world of children's competitive dance.

To Mr. Jonathon, the straightest route to world peace is his, um, provoking routines on injustice, animal cruelty, child labor, capitalism, venereal disease, and pollution. But he, his toe-tapping students, and one monsterous stage mom can agree on one thing: It's time to beat the spangled pants off their rivals, the high-kicking snobs of Miss Elizabeth's Talent Academy.

This riotous comedy boasts more costumes than the WeHo Halloween parade as hyper packs of kids dressed as mimes, mummies, Rockettes, and the members of KISS storm the stage to cartwheel and twirl their way towards first place.

This sprightly satire eviscerates the adult culture of false piety, while celebrating the young girls who just want to dance."

Mr. Jonathan is the poster boy for freedom.  No matter how "out of the box" his dance routines for pre-teen girls may be - his heart and intention stem from pure love.

Miss Elizabeth (the rival dance school), on the other hand, might be more aptly named Miss Fear.  She falsely encourages her students to test them, then berates them (saying that is the truth).  She blames, complains and is completely self-absorbed.

Mr. Jonathan wants to make a difference in the world and never views his profession as a dance teacher as an obstacle.  Mr. Jonathan can see a world of possibilities.  In the end, Mr. Jonathan's ability to live in freedom and praise for his dancers is refreshingly rewarded.

I highly recommend Razzle Dazzle.  Hopefully, it will show in American theaters in the coming year.

If you'd like to watch a trailer, click here.

I invite you to play the fear/freedom game the next time you watch a film, television show, play or read a book. 

What characters represent fear and what characters represent freedom?  How can seeing fear and freedom in fictional characters support your process? 

I'd love to hear your discoveries and comments.

LA Film Festival - The Year After

As usual, when I select the films to see at a festival, there's a pretty good chance that I'll see at least one French film.  My French film for this year is called - The Year After. 

It's fascinating to me how much I can learn from a film that supports my discovery of bliss.

Here's how the LA Film Festival describes the film:

"After her father's death, 17-year-old Emmanuelle, is stuck in a rut of routine and boredom, spending her days on public transportation, in school, and at the mall.

Searching for a purpose, she attempts to redefine herself with new clothes and new friends, while enduring prefabricated “fun times” with her emotionally distant mother.

Drifting through it all, she is surrounded by possibilities of community that never quite come to fruition: her best friend's family welcomes her but is too culturally distinct, a disastrous crush on her English teacher leads to nothing but embarrassment, and her relationship with her mother grows more strained when she goes behind Emmanuelle's back to sell the family apartment."

The film is told in third person by the girl, so it underlines how far-removed she is from reality and present moment.  She walks through her days as if they are pages written in a novel or scenes from a movie.

If I could give the lead character two Fearless Living "tools," I'd give her present moment and the world is for you.  By practicing that the world is for her and being in the present moment (speaking in first person instead of 3rd person), Emmanuelle would be able to "wake up" and make the choices that would support her in discovering her own bliss. 

How can you learn from Emmanuelle's struggles?  Where can you practice living in the present moment?  How can seeing "the world is for you" support you to discover your bliss? 

I'd love to hear your comments and discoveries!