“Raw Faith” Wins PBS Human Spirit Award!

Many of you know that I have been working on a documentary film–actually, I’m the subject of the film–for almost three years now.  We are going to have our World Premiere at the Nashville Film Festival this Friday night, April 16, and the film will screen again on 3:45 Sunday.  The film is called “Raw Faith.”  It is by Sameboat Productions, a nonprofit company a few of us formed, and the director is Peter Wiedensmith.j

I just learned yesterday that our film has been given the PBS Human Spirit Award.  This is a significant award because that means our film will be shown on the local affiliate of PBS, and we will be in conversation with them about the possibility of a national PBS showing.

I thought the wording of the PBS panel that selected us from the five nominated films was eloquent and meaningful, and I will repeat it here:

“The NPT <Nashville Public Television>  Human Spirit Award, presented each year by NPT to a Nashville Film Festival documentary selection, acknowledges a filmmaker’s work that best explores and captures the human spirit.  The film must illuminate in a high artistic manner the important characteristics of what it means to be human: generosity, kindness, mercy, compassion, fortitude and honor. 

“‘In the past, NPT has honored films exploring the human spirit of those that have crossed racial barriers, given back to their homelands or had the courage to fight corporate goliaths,’ said the NPT Human Spirit Award jury in a joint statement.  ‘This year we recognize a filmmaker who captured one of the most unique of human characteristics, that of looking inward.  In joining Marilyn Sewell on her journey of personal discovery, Wiedensmith gives us a stunning and candid portrait of the power and value of exploring just who we are and where we’re going.  We, the viewer, are better for it.’”

When the Sameboat Production Company (all five of us!) set out to make a film, we wanted to make a film about human values.  That’s why, recognizing our interdependence, we called ourselves “Sameboat.”   We wanted to make a film that was honest, one that had integrity.  And the story unfolded in real time, as it happened, surprising all of us along the way.  Marilyn had not met George when the film started, and when he came on the scene, everything changed, as you might imagine.  Now the film was not just about her–it was about them, as well.  What was going to happen?  Marilyn didn’t know.  George didn’t know.  And Peter, the director, didn’t know.  The film led us on a personal and a creative journey.

As the “subject” of the film, I was more than a little daunted.  At the beginning of the project, I said to Peter, “Why me?  I’m not brilliant, I’m not particularly funny.  All I have to offer is honesty.  I can be real.  And that is what I’ll try to do, throughout the making of the film.”  “Raw Faith” went deeper than anyone thought it would, or could, emotionally and spiritually, and we all learned more about ourselves from the experiencing of creating the film.  I learned more about loving, and that’s the lesson that’s bedrock in human life, so now as we finish our work, I feel satisfied and grateful. 

Our goal all along has been to create a well-made film that would move and inspire people.  We think we have done that.  Now we get to see if other people agree with that assessment.  With the Nashville Film Festival, we’re taking this baby out in public for the first time.  It’s scary.  But it’s time.  And we offer it with the same faith in which in was made.