By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Feb 25 | Last June as I was walking along the sidewalk headed up Connecticut Avenue here in the District, I was stopped by an earnest young man wearing a black polo shirt that had the logo of a well known non-profit organisation embroidered on the front. I politely stopped and listened to his spiel about the benefits of signing up and how, for a few dollars a month, my contribution would make a difference. I politely told him that I am a journalist and my practise was not to contribute to the various causes. He smiled and said he understood and then he thanked me.
Now, this is where I need to be very honest, I was struck by his smile and then I noticed that he was a strikingly good looking young man. I was captivated. We talked, he explained, I asked questions, in all we stood there for the better part of an hour wrapped up in a thoroughly delightful conversation. I walked away with his e-mail address and phone number, pleased that I had met such an articulate, intelligent, and genuinely gorgeous young man both inside and out.
As the summer flew by I had more than one occasion to run into him as he plied his trade along the busy streets of downtown Washington soliciting memberships and fundraising for his employer. We talked many times and I learned considerably more about this unique individual. Along the way I ended up playing advisor and confidant on select matters of concern to him.
The young man's name is Sam Diaz-Fernandez and he is a recent graduate of Wheaton College in suburban Chicago, Illinois. Sam calls Columbia home although he has spent his formative years traveling through the Americas with his missionary parents and now currently resides in Houston,Texas. Sam began to explore the roots of his Faith and his world around him by matriculating in the combined disciplines of philosophy & psychology at Wheaton eventually migrating into film studies where he has found a purpose and a promising future.
Sam, while at Wheaton, found that his interest in sexuality and diversity emerged in his student film work culminating in his current project, New Spirits. The film documents a small diverse LGBT community church in the Chicago suburbs, distinct not only in its welcoming acceptance of LGBT individuals- no longer a unique phenomenon- but because of the eclectic and unique array of people who comprise its congregation. Sam & the film's director Andrew Freer are finishing post-production currently.
Sam eventually left Washington at the end of the summer and I do miss our sidewalk chats and the occasional rendezvous at one of the numerous Starbucks to have coffee, talk, laugh, and for me, to enjoy the company of a genuinely warm and compassionate human being. As I told Sam, his young lady is extraordinarily fortunate. Luckily for me, Sam has been diligent in keeping me in the loop as it were with news and happenings and today I received an e-mail that I am going to share a portion of with all of my readers along with a marvelous example of Sam and his friend's cinematography.
"...My good friend Andrew Freer and I have been collaborating in film together for about three years now--more recently under the banner of Heave Ho Productions--and we have just completed our first professional music video. The video was created for the phenomenal music of "The Moon and her Mother" (our mutual friend Aaron Wallace.) Suffice it to say, the label that signed Aaron has fully embraced our video and is excited at the waves it could make on the internet.
Here is where we will test the power of the internet once again (and the love of my friends and family....maybe.) This is the basic formula: the more people watch the video, the more they buy Aaron's music, the more the label is happy, the more we get hired as music directors/producers and round and round it goes. No matter which way you slice it it is incredible to have this kind of exposure, particularly as we carve our way into an independent film career. So with that said I am asking you all help me make this thing explode, to the best of your ability. Send it to everyone you know, everyone you don't know, and everyone you wish you knew.
With this I leave you to your devices. Some ideas: send it all over facebook, twitter, google buzz, myspace, mass emails, tumblr, blogspaces, etc. "
With great pleasure and oh yes, I watched the video, I present it here for my readers and as a favour to my young friend Sam. I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I did. This is proof positive, along with footage of Sam's other work that I have been privileged to view, that this young man has a very bright future indeed.
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