The Greater Waterbury 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness will welcome director Tom Shadyac and his film “I AM” at 6:30 p.m. Friday, February 22, to the Palace Theater, 100 East Main St. for a free showing to the community. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
Mr. Shadyac is one of Hollywood’s leading comedy practitioners and the creative force behind such blockbusters as “Ace Ventura,” “Liar Liar,” “The Nutty Professor,” and “Bruce Almighty.”
In his latest project, Mr. Shadyac asks some of today’s most profound thinkers, two questions, “What’s wrong with our world,” and “What can we do about it?”
He steps in front of the camera to recount what happened to him after a cycling accident left him incapacitated, possibly for good.
Though he ultimately recovered, he emerged with a new sense of purpose, determined to share his own awakening to his prior life of excess and greed, and to investigate how he as an individual, and we as a race, could improve the way we live and walk in the world.
Meeting with a variety of thinkers and doers–remarkable men and women from the worlds of science, philosophy, academia, and faith–including such luminaries as David Suzuki, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Lynne McTaggart, Ray Anderson, John Francis, Coleman Barks, and Marc Ian Barasch. Mr. Shadyac appears on-screen as character, commentator, guide, and even, at times, guinea pig.
An irrepressible “Everyman” who asks tough questions, but offers no easy answers, he takes the audience to places it has never been before, and presents even familiar phenomena in completely new and different ways.
Mr. Shadyac will appear via Skype to take questions from the audience and share his personal thoughts. A montage of interviews featuring individuals and families who received assistance at Project Homeless Connect will also be shown.
The Greater Waterbury 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness is sponsoring this event to create awareness and echo the message in the film, “I am my brother’s keeper.” As there is no one cause to homelessness, the plan is using multiple committees to address the various ways our community can help those who are without shelter and make a difference for those on the edge. Details and news about the Greater Waterbury 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness are available online at www.waterbury10yearplan.net. There will be information after the screening for those who would like to learn more, volunteer, or donate. Tickets are available at no cost by calling the Palace Theater box office at 203-755-4700 or by visiting http://www.palacetheaterct.org/worxcms_published/events_page1107.shtml. Organizers recommend getting tickets early in order to reserve seating with your group. Anyone who would like to learn more about the film can visit www.iamthedoc.com.