Happy Star Wars Day

Today is 'Star Wars' day and to celebrate it I am posting this special post for it. I know I've gushed over 'Star Wars' in the past. And for those that know me personally they have heard it to death. It's hard not to though. The usual fan boy celebration of the films and the mythology and yes, even the lightsabers can be found everywhere. However, 'Star Wars' has very personal meaning for me. It takes it to a different level of appreciation because I might be a different person today if not for it.

When I was 3 going on 4 my parents took my sister and I to see it at the theatre. When your that age pretty much anything bright will grab hold of your attention but this was different. I was completely mesmerized by the powerful iconic images on the screen before me. It was such an awe inspiring moment that it changed everything. I became fascinated by the moving image. By visual storytelling. Whether I was watching movies or TV I found myself studying it even before I knew what the technical aspects of it were. When I played with my toys my eye became the camera. I would move in real close for a close up or pull out for a wide shot. I would repeat actions so that I could view them from different angles. All before I knew what any of that was. I didn't know about camera angles, editing, cinematography. I just wanted my imagination to mimic what I see on the screen.

As I grew older I learned more about the filmmaking process and knew from a very young age that a director was what I wanted to be. It's all I knew how to be. People would tell me how cute it was and that I would grow out of it. But I didn't. It only became more intense as the years went on. Even when people told me I needed to find a "real" career to invest in I was determined. I even had teachers tell me to give it up only to come around and tell me to keep going no matter what after they saw how determined I was.

I made my first feature film 'Distortion' which I literally just finished. It was many years in the making and I made it on my own with almost no money. But my love of movies and of filmmaking stems back to that one moment when a young child was completely enthralled by the film playing out in front of him. 'Star Wars' changed my life and I cannot be more thankful. I don't know who I would be today if that had never happened. Quite honestly I don't want to know. I like who I have become. I only hope that little kid who dreamed of becoming a filmmaker one day feels the same way.

Here is the one moment from any film that I feel defines me. It is only fitting that it is from 'Star Wars'. That sense of dreaming for something that seems so far away. Hoping one day to reach it.




Thank you 'Star Wars' for everything you have done for me. May the Force be with you.