In September, Grassroots Films traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, where the Audubon Youth Development Center and the Louisville Youth Detention Center hosted private screenings of The Human Experience for a group of young men, ages 13 to 18. The screenings were not only a cinematic dialogue, but a cathartic transmigration for both the audience and filmmakers alike.
Upon return to Brooklyn, the letters started pouring in. We were struck by the words of these young men. Their stories - intimate, realistic and filled with both suffering and forgiveness, reveal a desire to discover the meaning in their lives...
"The sense of us being human in the film was truly beautiful. For a long time I felt no compassion for anyone, being locked up. I have begun to feel compassion for other people. Your film just made that sense of love for the human race stronger. I used to be and I still remain an atheist. But I am today a more loving and caring person." -DLC
"I am still stunned that people would take time out of their lives just to learn how it is to live on the streets. But what I really learned from The Human Experience is that no matter who you are or what you have done, you can still make a change in someone's life." - CW
"We enjoyed The Human Experience. It made two of us cry. It takes a lot of courage to do the things that you put yourselves through for the truth in them situations." - JS, AS, & KB
"I want to say thank you: because the film made me realize even tho I ain't always had it good, there's people worse off than me. Cause I have always had my family, and even tho my dad is locked up, he lets me know he loves me, and not that many people have that. So now I ain't gonna take that for granted anymore... Thank you for the film. Really." - TH
"I want to say thanks for presenting the whole film to us teenage men and letting us see what's going on in the world... Everyone respects what y'all done and learned something new. Maybe someone will apply it sometime in their life and it will contribute to what y'all showed us." -EA
"The movie was very heart-fulfilling and it made us think a lot about how we took certain things for granted... It opened our eyes to the fact that you should be thankful for what you have, instead of grieving over what other people have."
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