i am

This documentary premiered here in Portland on Friday night and I went and saw it.  It kind of bugs me when people go on and on about how good a movie is and tell me how I have to see it, so I'll try not to do that.  I will say though, that it was a film that caused a shift in how I perceive myself and my relationship to others in a pretty big way.  I would even venture so far as to say that I had a spiritual experience while watching it.

Tom Shadyac, the director was there for a Q&A afterwards and the energy in the room was completely electric.  One person made the comment that we need a Martin Luther King or a Gandhi to lead a change in the world and Tom made the astute observation that we don't need an MLK or a Gandhi.  In order for profound and long lasting change to occur, we need to stop assuming that some other great mind will step in and make change happen.  We all have to step up and be that person.  I think that's partly where the title of the documentary comes from.

It's playing in Portland now at the Fox Tower and Tom is traveling across the U.S. showing it in select cities.  I'm guessing/hoping that eventually they open it up to a much wider release.  You can click here for showtimes.