Letter from the Director

Why Stories Matter and the Wisdom of the Heart by Rich Henrich Founder, Director Film 4 Change Albuquerque Film Festival

 

 

 

 

 

The great science fiction writer Ray Bradbury once said to me that it was important to write with love and end with hope. When I pressed him for an explanation he said that the responsibility of the writer is to write stories that give the world hope because we have, in his words, ”enough of all the other junk.” Now, as Film 4 Change enters our fifth year and the Albuquerque Film Festival turns three, we are reminded just how important hope is to our own story. When we mobilize hope we consequently disarm fear. Hope is one of the most precious gifts we can give to each other. Hope allows us to seek out creative solutions. It gives us the courage to believe that positive change is possible and that the world we seek still awaits us.

In 2006, Film 4 Change was created to help tell the stories of the world. We started planning for an international film festival in Cancun and then a hurricane ripped through the city and caused us to cancel. 2007 marked our second attempt but the destination was devastated, yet again, by another hurricane. Two years later, in 2009, we chose our next audacious effort and headed for dryer ground in Albuquerque. Shortly thereafter America went into an economic collapse, non-profits were fledgling or going under, businesses were closing, and many said it wasn’t the best time to start a new endeavor such as this. We decided to press on. And here we are, preparing for the third annual Albuquerque Film Festival. Of course we’ve had some challenges, but through it all we have maintained our persistence of vision, kept hope alive, and helped dreams come true in the process.

This is only a bit of our story while we continue to explore the contrast between the world as it is and the world we wish to see. Our journey has shown us that when we have hope, we understand that our common vision is evolving into the story of us, and ultimately, the story of now …

We lean forward in anticipation. The unknown enters the frame. We settle in, popcorn in hand. Our focus on the screen, waiting for the character to make a decision. We’ve all been there. It’s exhilarating. It’s terrifying. We all want to be agents of change. We’re constantly examining alternatives and consequences as we hope to make the right choice for ourselves, our families and communities. We wait. We watch. The stakes are high and the circumstances are now unexpected and the answers unknown.

In this moment, we are as alive as we can be in a fictional world because we are able to identify with the character empathetically. We are able to feel the story with emotion and with our hearts. This is the power of story. This is why we sit in dark rooms with strangers (well most of us). We want to reconnect with the wisdom of our hearts and to know that we have made the right choices in our own lives.

The problem isn’t how to make the world more technological but how to make it more human again. The advances in technology now allow the cost of production to be accessible to the masses and to use technology to tell stories that will humanize us again. Whether it is a single photograph that captures a moment in Haiti, a Youtube video that circles the world or a film shoot on a digital camera, we are now using technology to help humanize the world more than ever. This is what Film 4 Change wishes to share with you as we present the 2011 Albuquerque Film Festival.

Warmest regards,

Rich Henrich
Founder, Director
Film 4 Change
Albuquerque Film Festival