Homeless Teens? Seriously, this is an issue? Calvin’s story is the story of survival and success of a young man, who is homeless, gay and was rejected by his family. Join us for the itsashort.com online premiere September 11, 2018 at 8 central/9 eastern/6 pacific, here and meet Calvin. The premiere will be followed by a live streamed Q/A with the cast and crew.
Quinn Wilson or ‘Q’ as he is known, is the director of the film. He was drawn to tell Calvin’s story as a true expression of his film company What Matters Productions, a production company deeply committed to social justice. He personally knew Calvin and understood how important the story of teenage homelessness is an issue. He also knew that several people actually shared his story.
Caullen Hudson, the founder of Soapbox productions and a social justice enthusiast , not sure those two words should be joined, is a filmmaker and newly minted Masters in Social Work devotes his enormous vision and interest to social justice specific issues.
Back to Calvin! In 2015 Calvin had aspirations to become a massage therapist, kind of surprising that he would be interested in helping others given his own circumstances, he was homeless and rejected by his family
The short film, directed and produced by What Matters Productions and Soapbox productions follows Calvin, as a homeless teen. Watching the film, forces one to think about what it means to be homeless, and as a teenager, ugh! Where does he sleep, who are his friends, where does he receive mail, what does it mean to be homeless and transient. It forces the audience to engage with what it means to be a homeless teen. What a contrast to kids in high school who are talking about whatever…not the case here, no camaraderie, no hanging out after school, nothing like the life of an average teenager.
His homelessness is contrasted against his burning desire to help others. At the time, he was very interested in becoming a massage therapist as an expression of his deep passion to help others.
The purpose of the film is to tell Calvin’s story, raise awareness about the plight of teenage homelessness and to launch a ‘go fund me’ campaign to support Calvin’s interest in going to massage school. The campaign was successful! Calvin decided to donate the funds raised to the very shelter programs that supported him during his homeless periods. He was able to secure affordable housing and is pursuing his professional interest.
Collected Voices Film Festival
The Collected Voices Film Festival begins its season with an online short film festival hosted by itsashort.com! The contest begins on September 15, 2018 at noon central. The filmmaker with the most votes wins and will be announced at the film festival events in Chicago and Los Angeles. More about Collected Voices in the next blog post!
