The Legacy Project - Poland
Our trip to Poland was the perfect metaphor for life. Exploratory. Unique. Chaotic. Challenging. Convoluted. Fulfilling. Eye-opening. Unforgettable.
Back in February or so, Greg mentioned to me that he and his friend Dave Whitson, a teacher at Overlake High School in Seattle were organizing a trip to Poland for a group of Dave's students. He wondered if I'd be willing to come along, all expenses paid, to attend screenings of our previous film Flight from Death, which Greg had arranged in all the major cities in Poland, as well as do some filming as an exploratory exercise for a follow up film to Flight from Death, tentatively titled The Legacy Project. The film would pick up where FFD leaves off, dealing with issues such as hope, survival, suffering, and faith. A trip to Poland certainly sounded appealing as did producing a follow up to FFD - something we had been discussing for several years - but traveling with a group of high school students sounded like a logistical disaster waiting to happen.
Greg and I began discussing the dynamic of making a movie with a large group of students and decided, though it would be extremely challenging, to entertain it further. After all, this was all exploratory, and maybe they could help the crew, and who knows even become a major throughline for the movie - the journey of gifted and privileged students into an exploration of one of the darkest chapters in human history, the Holocaust. Sure, that had potential, but shooting for three weeks with a bunch of students? This would go against everything I learned in my decade of experience in filmmaking. Turns out, my experience hadn't taught me anything. Either that, or I was really desperate for an adventure because I immediately agreed to do it without even a remote idea of what I was getting myself into.
Over the next several months, Greg and I continued discussing the concept for the film only to end up with more questions and an ever expanding scope for the film. "A film about how people find and sustain hope in the face of no hope" sounds great, but how do you film that? And speaking of film, how do you make one without a crew anyway? Meanwhile, the ball was rolling, students were being interviewed for the trip, interviews with Holocaust survivors were lined up, and plans were being made. The Legacy Project was quickly taking on a life of its own and was going to happen whether we were ready for it or not.
I once attended a seminar where the director, Walter Salles was speaking about his experiences making The Motorcycle Diaries during which the cast and crew retraced the 8,000 mile exploratory trek through South America that Che Guevara took before becoming the leader of the Cuban Revolution. Salles and his crew filmed as they journeyed through these foreign lands, employing locals as actors where they went, and sometimes rewriting the movie on the spot. Walter spoke about how the "film gods" were with them every step of the way, opening doors for them, making it all possible.
Well, I began sensing even before the trip started, the "film gods" smiling upon us. It was either that or there was a mass breakout at the local psych ward because just months before leaving, two more crazies entered the picture. These nut jobs were willing to not just give up 2 weeks of their lives for this, but pay their own way to serve as crew on this mad excursion. And what a motley bunch we were. The film crew was comprised of myself, Pat Pai (friend and fellow filmmaker) and Scott Shamansky (my best friend since the 5th grade). Rounding out the group was Greg (who would end up brilliantly wearing many hats on this trip), 11 super cool high school students, Dave Whitson (their history teacher and co-coordinator for the trip), Natasha (Photographer/Greg's amazing girlfriend), and friends/translators, Ania and Pawel.
In the span of two weeks our group of 17-20 people (depending on how many of the local translators were with us) traveled to cities such as Warsaw, Lublin, Owsiecim, Krakow, and Czestochowa. Along the way we filmed concentration camps, interviewed Holocaust survivors, and local Polish folks about their memories of the horrific things that happened in their own backyards; we chaperoned 11 students; we promoted and organized five screenings of Flight from Death; and whenever possible, we played, ate, slept, and counseled one another. Never have I experienced so much death imagery and life imagery all in one short span of time. It was a physically, mentally, emotionally exhausting, and convoluted trip and all I can think about these days is when I can do it all again. That is, if it's even possible to replicate such a unique experience.
In the end, we came back with a lot to show for our time in Poland. We shot approximately 30-40 hours of amazing HD footage; we have a solid foundation upon which to continue our exploration of suffering, hope, survival, and faith in places all over the world; I've made new friends; and most importantly, I'm completely recharged and ready to take on the world again. Future Legacy Project trips may include Chile, South Africa, Cambodia, the Middle East, and China just to name a few and I'll be counting the days until each and every one of those trips.
In reading up on The Motorcycle Diaries, I stumbled upon the brilliant tagline for the film that sums up a lot of things for me. "Before he changed the world, the world changed him." I've always spoken about wanting to be a catalyst for change with the work that I do but never giving much attention to the change that perhaps needs to take place in me. How can I even dream of changing anything in the world, if I am not fully immersed in it, living in it, and interacting with it? I'm certainly feeling incredibly drawn to the world these days - not wanting to keep my feet still but continually moving and taking me to unfamiliar places. Film gods, I'm in your hands.
Legacy Project - Poland pics
