And... Action!

This Saturday, the 6th of September, 2008, The American Dream begins filming on the campus of San Jose State University (SJSU).

This blog is to document and help facilitate the life of this movie. From pre-production, through production, into post-production. On through marketing, release and distribution.

The movie is being made based on the drive of one central creative principal, Franklin Pham. To this, he has recruited the unbridled enthusiasm and contributory efforts of dozens. The envisioning of a story can take place in a single mind. The bringing to fruition of a motion picture requires the willingness and cooperation of many. Sort of the inverse of “E Pluribus Unum” — Out of many one. In this case, out of one, many. “E Unumus Pluri?”

This is The American Dream.

Cast & Crew

• Franklin Pham is the Writer, Director and Producer. He will also be cast in a small part, as himself.

• Peter Corless is Marketing Director, Lighting Supervisor, Producer's Assistant. He will also be cast in a small part, as himself.

The rest of the cast and crew list reads like a typical Bay Area polyglot of names from around the world: Ron, Kim, Baback, Jesse, Tri, Vien-Phong, Yash, Zauer, Aurelien, Philippe, Mohit, Piyush, Harshi, Zareen, Cesar, Naveed, Rahul, Joanna, Will, Ekaterine, Young Lee, Silvia, Reed.

In due time more of their stories will be told. For this is The American Dream. Their American dream. Our American dream. Your American dream.

Right now, let’s share only two dreams briefly.

Franklin’s Dream

Franklin Pham came to the San Francisco Bay Area from Paris, France. His heritage is Vietnamese. In a way, he is an artistic migrant worker. His day, and his life journey, is centered around where his passion lies. As an artist, photographer, and film maker, Franklin’s vision is cosmopolitan, pluralistic, natural, yet crisp and intelligent. Ironically real and magically witty.

Like many people, Franklin has a way of stepping into events far larger than himself. Yet unlike so many, rather than retreat when he sees the enormity of the issue, Franklin begins to ask questions, to take photographs. And listens, and laughs.

The American Dream is far larger a subject matter than any one cinematic eye can take in in a lifetime. Yet Franklin has the bravery to look that dream in the eye and smile. He also has a plan to take fleeting snapshots of that dream and condense them all into a short film, to be released in 2009.

Peter’s Dream

Peter Corless worked through design, support and marketing in the gaming, computing and networking industries to find himself a venture capitalist and small business owner. He founded and was President of Celebrate History, sat on the Board of the Silicon Valley WebGuild, and also began Green Knight Publishing to explore the world of King Arthur’s Britain through books, games and other entertainments. After a while, he found the term “human” and “humanitarian” the most appealing of all.

More recently, he was a founder in 2006 of Flowers in the Cracks, an artist’s movement celebrating the renewal of life, and, in 2008, of the Global Understanding Institute, a new worldwide organization for conflict monitoring, analysis and resolution.

Shared Dream and Vision

Peter met Franklin on the sun-dappled streets of Mountain View, California, where they became brothers-in-arts after engaging in an insightful dialog over freedoms — of speech, of religion, of economy and profit, and of assembly. Yet the metadialog was clear: “We have to talk more!”

Thereafter, Franklin Pham became a member of both Flowers in the Cracks (attending his first get-together Aug 2, 2008) and the Global Understanding movement (upon its inception Aug 19, 2008). As Franklin’s friend, and as founder of Flowers in the Cracks and the Global Understanding Institute, Peter is offering his full support for this production.

Franklin’s film will include philosophical elements and motifs to support both movements. What is nearly mystical is this: Franklin’s film vision was already set.

The story. The commitment to production. The magical yet entirely true reality is that, by chance or seeming chance, both of these men would meet and align their visions and their works side-by-side. Many of those who came together for this production have similar and just as passionate life-long reasons to align to Franklin’s creative voice and directorial vision.

Perhaps The American Dream has its own plans for all involved far larger than this single short film! Perhaps one of a more perfect union, inspired by a common cause to action.

This is only one pair of social bonds that holds the production together. Over time, you will come to know other names and stories. The web of friendship, ethics, beliefs, passions, hopes and joy that formed the cast and crew, and hold this production group together.

Welcome to our show. Your show. Enjoy!