Upcoming Projects: Enter the Darkness To Find the Light: What Does It All Mean?

2020 has been a year of change. I hard change for most. Though this has been a rough year - many people continue to look for a change within themselves. A change to either become a better person, or a change in goals. One thing is always evident with change, and that is failure.

I believe people fail because not only are we human, but we fail to accept “who” and “where” we are at that present moment.

A nice woman named Glenda has the desire to lose weight. That’s fantastic. How will she go about that? How can she expect to lose weight if she doesn't love herself where she’s at first, accept that she’s overweight, and embrace the hard road ahead. Once Glenda accepts those things while also realizing that change will not happen overnight, she’ll be heading in the right direction.

On November 11, 2019 I posted the following on several social media platforms: “Would you love and care for someone who might be at their lowest, or would you judge and ridicule them? Will you embrace them with loving arms, or would you condemn them and throw hundreds of scripture at them? Would you listen and understand where they’re coming from, or would you hide behind your own self-righteousness? So don’t be offended by the approaching darkness. This is only a part of his journey. Sometimes you have to enter the darkness to find the light. He still wants to glorify God. He does. He’s just lost. I don’t expect sheep to understand.”

Following that post, on December 10, 2019 I posted the following: “I embraced my imperfections. I embraced the deep rut I’ve been buried in since late 2016. I embraced the darkness around me to finally be able to create art again.”

In some way, form, or fashion, we are all lost. Whether you are saved or unsaved - a kind person or a jerk - we are all lost.

Late 2019 we launched a new campaign of projects and posts titled “ENTER THE DARKNESS TO FIND THE LIGHT”.

If it threw you off then fantastic. I hope it did. It’s my hope that the viewer is challenged and forced to question the things around them. The end result is promising.

For the first time in about two years we created and released three videos (episodes) that officially kicked off this campaign. They were all uploaded to Instagram, YouTube, and Vimeo on November 15, 2019.

However we are not stopping there.

Michael Ali as Keith in THE MAN LOST IN THE DARKNESS

The next project to accompany these three episodes will be our short film “The MAN LOST IN THE DARKNESS". Formally titled “Lost & Space” - "THE MAN LOST IN THE DARKNESS" has been in the works for two years now and includes more than 12 drafts of screenplay. The story has been changed numerous times to get to where it is now and I couldn’t be happier.

This story is more personal, and ties in with the project “ENTER THE DARKNESS TO FIND THE LIGHT”. Those who contributed to the fundraiser we had for this short film two years ago will be compensated with the perks of which they were promised.

The first three episodes, including the short film, are what I like to call “Chapter 1” of a three part series. There will be an episode four before the release of the short film.

Chapter 2 will be released next. It will also include four episodes followed by a short film. Lastly, we will end the series with chapter 3. Chapter 3 will have five episodes with a short film attached as well.

In total we will have 13 episodes, accompanied by three short films. Each chapter will have an overall theme. Chapter 1 is self-righteousness, Chapter 2 will be politics, and Chapter 3 will focus on religion. All chapters will also include subject matters that stem from that of sin, redemption, and the current state of the world.

In addition to the episodes and short films, there will be weekly "Message" videos uploaded to Impactful Film's second YouTube channel called "BleuTron". These videos will carry the story between episodes and short films while giving you a closer look into the characters, story, and the overall message of "ENTER THE DARKNESS TO FIND THE LIGHT" through cryptic videos with heavy symbolism at times.

As far as the content, I will not be holding back the need to express myself. I am a Christian, but I’m also an artist, and like most artist I’m inclined to express myself and tell my truth. I will not filter my work. The content in the series and message videos will be dark, gritty, and unclean at times - just like us. We as human beings are not perfect. To become more like “Him” we need to embrace the troubles around us. This series will represent that.

If you're offended by such subject matter and content then great. I encourage you to stick around. If you prefer films like “God’s Not Dead”, which I hope you don’t enjoy a hateful Christian propaganda film where the Christian is depicted as a Saint/Hero and the Atheist is evil and self centered, then you really need to stick around.

Like a film or television show everything will be answered at the end.

Soon all the episodes, short films, messages, and random social media posts will make sense.

I hope you all join the journey. I hope along the way you challenge yourself and ask the hard questions. I hope you begin to see the darkness around you that will eventually lead to the light.

That’s why I love films like Martin Scoresese’s “Silence”, it’s raw and challenging. You ask yourself the hard questions. You become stronger after going through the rough times, finding the light on the other side.

The approach of entering the darkness to find the light isn’t ideal, but necessary for me, and many others. I hope to portray that through the film medium.

As I close I will end with this - - - - - - Don’t be a SHEEP.