Oprah Winfrey made a surprise appearance at the DNC in Chicago last night, and Tim Walz’s terrific kids made us all tear up, but one of the night’s less-publicized small gems was “American Family: A Film About Freedom,” a short film by portrait photographer Platon and filmmaker-journalist Scott Dadich. It deserves your attention, and you should watch it since it’s only a bit over five minutes long.
It’s a beautiful little video of ordinary Americans from almost every background (OK, no billionaires or Trumpers that we know of) talking about what freedom means to them and to their families — the ones they were born into, became part of through marriage or adoption, or which they chose themselves. Enjoy the freedom!
Platon and Dadich say in a brief backgrounder on the film — it’s so new it doesn’t have an IMDB entry yet, and IMDB has entries for friggin’ Super Bowl ads — that the film was completed in a “single action-packed week” of filming and editing, on an incredibly tight overall schedule:
Much like the Harris-Walz campaign itself, the film came together on a moment’s notice, and its success is a testament to the intense dedication and immense talent of the team that made it happen. From casting to contracts, production to the final edit, we had less than two weeks from the time the DNC commissioned the film to its primetime premiere. […]
Our goal was to pay tribute to the countless ways freedom animates our lives—how we dream, how we hope, and how we strive to live as Americans. We are profoundly grateful to those who chose to share their stories, and we hope you see yourself in this film because it’s truly a reflection of America—of all of us.
It’s a remarkably moving film, with folks taking time to seriously reflect on what “freedom” comes down to: A small family hoping their kids will stay safe, a gay Black man saying that freedom simply means being able to tell his husband “I love you,” and more than one person acknowledging that abstractions like “freedom” and “equality” and “the land of opportunity” can sound trite, but are incredibly important in how they live their lives. Tyler, a young woman with a significant disability, her hand held by her caregiver Yvette, says that
The American Dream is about having the ability to … to make choices about your medical care and do whatever you want to do with your life, without anybody telling you if it’s good or not.
At the end of the video, when the interviewees introduce themselves (first names only), Tyler and Yvette add, “and we believe in love,” their heads pressed close together. The film doesn’t specify whether they’re daughter and mother, or partners, and honestly, that suggestion that the viewer might have mistakenly assumed it had to be the former is a wonderful moment all on its own. Oh yes, people with profound disabilities are in relationships, and that too is part of our freedom thing.
The interviewees all agree that it’s a frightening time, with fundamental freedoms at risk, especially for women. But they’re also convinced that we have the power to win and preserve our freedom, so that’s what we just have to do.
We especially like the two union workers in their hardhats, the family with the little bitty baby, the very young teacher who wants her students to have the chance to chase their dreams, though our first impression is that she’s just starting her own career. Or maybe she finished a master’s degree in her early 20s like a friend of ours, so don’t assume she’s a beginner at this.
It’s America — we’re all full of surprises, because freedom.
[American Family: A film About Freedom / GodfreyDadich.com]
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