A fine, positivity-powered way to start out a long Saturday at SBIFF: Going on a 90-minute world tour with Given Goodwin, the tiny but mighty, powerfully charismatic child and sole narrator of the beautiful sort of documentary Given. Director Jess Bianchi and a compact, ultra-mobile crew (with three helicopters at the ready for gorgeous aerial work), embarked on a year-long globe-spanning adventure with his childhood friend from Hawaii, Aamion Goodwin, his pro surfer wife Daize and their young family, with six-year old Given as the protagonist and point-of-view.
The Goodwins headed out from home base in Kauai and ventured to Iceland, Thailand, points in Africa, Nepal, and beyond, and finally to a heartwarming and big fish-landing finale in Fiji. What results, is a vagabond surfer family saga blessed with the idealistic and warmly naïve viewpoints of a child’s eye view of life and the world, but also a visually stunning tribute to the wonder of the planet we inhabit. Ironically, this profoundly pro-global film arrives at a time when America is being threatened by an ominous specter of xenophobia from the Houses of Power.
A post-screening Q&A included Daize, her young daughter, True, and director Bianchi, who explained that he intentionally avoided dramatic conflict in the film. “A lot of films have unnecessary conflict to move the drama along,” he said. “But I wanted to show that you can focus on the positive.” Daize added, “We live in a world that is fear-based, especially with everything going on, but people were so warm and kind wherever we went.” She went on to speak of the importance of making sure that her children “live a life of a light and love,” and that grassroots action is critical at this vulnerable historical moment. “We have to be the change. It sounds clichéd, but it’s true. We can make things happen.”