goodwill's blog

Through out all of my travels over the years I have learned some very important lessons.  In order to bridge the cultural divide you first need to identify common interests and or goals.  While bringing over 20 high school students from Canada to India in order to film this documentary certainly has its challenges, the goal was to first put the young filmmakers at ease with their new surroundings and subjects.  There are many ways to do this, but I have found the easiest way is to connect individuals from different cultures through the arts and culture.  read more »

The DOC Team arrived in Udaipur India a week earlier then the students. The DOC team was made up Scott McPherson, Fanny Malo, and myself. Both Fanny and Scott are in film school. We arrived a week early in order to finalize the stories the youth had developed back in Montreal.

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I just recently returned from India. Where I was running a program for Nokia, International Youth Foundation and Free the Children, the program is called Directors of Change This programs mandate is create youth produced documentaries that are then integrated into the curriculum of Canada school boards across the country.  Each student is also outfitted with a Nokia N95 mobile video camera so they can document their own experience, as well as produce a film showing their behind the scenes struggle.  read more »

I was sent this top 10 list by a close friend. People often ask me how they can make a difference in the world, especially living with such fast paced, packed lives. This list highlights many ways to make a difference, and it all begins with improving yourself.

1. You be the change you dream of seeing (Thanks Mahatma Gandhi). "If everyone of us would sweep their own doorstep, the whole world would be clean," observed Mother Teresa. She was right.  read more »

I was recently interviewed for an article discussing the importance of creativity in nurturing the growth of youth and their core life skills.  This article outlines programs around the world where they are using creative arts to motive and inspire youth.  One of these programs, Directors of Change, which I am the Executive Producer of, is profiled through out the piece. This is a great article to see what other youth programs are being run around the world.  read more »

As many of you may or may not know, I am also Executive Director for a program called Directors of Change, which is a Nokia, International Youth Federation and Free the Children initiative. This is the second year I have directed this program.  Last year I took 15 highschool students from Vancouver to Mexico.  We explored the issues affecting youth living on the border of Mexico and Arizona.   read more »

It has been an amazing year, leaving little time to sit and type out my thoughts on the pat year and what is coming down the pipe.  Over the past year I have done more travelling then every before.  In the past year I have been to China twice, Africa twice, France twice, New York, Haiti and across the US several times.

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In today's digital and mobile worlds there is a thirst for content. This content comes from creators who develop their work to be "discovered" by the mainstream market.  read more »

I recently returned from Haiti, where I was directing a documentary on child slavery, known in Haiti as "restavek", translation "stay with".  read more »