The #ChooseHopeStory - Over 250 Filmmakers Create a Global Film About What Unites Us
It’s day 15 of the National Lockdown in India. In just a blink of an eye, a microscopic virus froze everything. Being the head of a video production company, I was locked inside my home since all our shoots were obviously postponed. I spent a couple of days finishing the pending projects but I had no idea what was going to happen next, especially because I have always been out on the field with my camera.
Then one morning which I anticipated to be just another day of figuring out the next steps, I found the answer in my mailbox. An email from the Muse Storytelling about activating the Muse community for a film on the lockdown. This was all I needed! As a filmmaker, I wanted to document what was happening around me, and showcase it positively by focusing on how people are coming together in this precarious time.
These past 10 days of working on the story & shots breakdown, planning & shooting within the government set restrictions, outsourcing footage and seeing the final film get stitched together has been an emotional and satisfying journey as a filmmaker, and also as a world citizen who like many others is part of this global crisis.
With this film, I choose to spread love. I choose to showcase unity, and to take action within the limitations set by our government.
I choose to look at the positives and I choose hope! Do you? #ChooseHopeStory
Born from a feeling of isolation and a fierce desire to find purpose in the face of helplessness, #ChooseHopeStory is the collective effort of over 250 filmmakers across the globe from the Philippines to Egypt, Kenya, Italy, and El Salvador while headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
“Sharing these stories from around the world, it’s a reminder of who we choose to be in this moment, what we choose to do right now. And I think that is so, so important, for our families, for our friends, for our children,” said Muse Storytelling Founder, Patrick Moreau. “To be able to look back, and say when the worst happened, we were our best. We came together as global citizens, we took action, we showed kindness, and we knew it mattered”.
Bringing together Muse Storytelling’s global filmmaking community virtually to combat the helplessness and anxiety that many members felt was an essential component to the creation of this piece.
“Collaborating with a global community of filmmakers would have been a big dream at anytime,” said community leader Tami Lynn Ross, “But to do it now, to connect and to make new friends in the middle of all this isolation and uncertainty, has been extraordinary and fulfilling”.
The global team of filmmakers came together over the course of just ten days to develop the creative, bring together footage, and edit the four-minute video while filming up until the last day on several continents around the world.
“Joining a team of more than 250 fellow filmmakers around the world to shine a light through the fear and uncertainty of this global pandemic, and to tell the story of the beauty of the human spirit, has been a truly amazing experience,” said community member Marty Miller.
To continue sharing the stories of these incredible moments amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Muse and their community are challenging people from around the world to continue to come together with stories of hope, sharing their inspiring moments on social media with the #choosehopestory.
