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Coming soon to a theatre near you...maybe
By Cam Tait
March 13, 2006
I think I'm going to write a movie. My movie will take place in Toronto and will span an eight-year period. We'll have lots of interesting locations: the waterfront, the CN Tower, Bay Street, the inner city. Maybe we'll even ask permission to go into the Air Canada Centre. We'll follow three different people from different countries who randomly come into contact with one another. We'll see how they come to each other's aid; how perfect strangers become good friends over one simple act of kindness.
The idea nestled gently in my head last week after the movie Crash took home best picture at the Academy Awards. It's an intriguing story that takes place in Los Angeles, with people from different races literally crashing into one another. It's a fascinating look at human behaviour and how typical attitudes painfully stick out. And, since it's Hollywood, it only makes sense that there's violence and crude language and all the other things that makes the motion picture industry and buttered popcorn go together.
Yet, there's a tender moment in Crash once the credits roll. The actors are listed in alphabetical order, making a gentle comment about equality. It's a great flick that offers a timely comment on relationships and perceptions of people of different races.
My movie would have the same premise as Crash. But, of course, I would be careful of copyright. The story is based on four different nonprofit agencies: a national umbrella organization dedicated to community and social services, a street outreach organization, an international aid group, and a crisis hotline for kids. We'll watch how the lives of people intersect, seemingly in random fashion.
Meet Sam, the national president of that umbrella organization. She once had a problem with substance abuse, spent the majority of her life on the streets. Then, one day, just when she thinks she'll never get another fix, Sam walks into a corner store. Looking haggard and tired, she catches the eye of a street outreach worker. The outreach officer, Kim, goes over and gently asks Sam if she's okay. That's the straw that does it...an open door to help at a time when surviving seems impossible. Sam starts rehab and works herself into well enough shape - physically and mentally - to start her life over again.
Sam starts volunteering at a crisis hotline for kids, first performing office tasks and then working her way up to the telephones. She takes a call one night from Terry, a young person who had just moved to Canada from South America. Terry has trouble with her English, endured some bullying because of it, and just needs to hear a friendly voice on the other end of the line. During her conversation with Sam, Terry mentions that she is looking forward to Halloween because it will give her an opportunity to collect money for the international aid group that provided her with food and water as a child. Terry feels better just talking to Sam.
The final scene is Sam sitting in her downtown Toronto office, signing three new funding contracts for - you guessed it - the very same street outreach agency, international aid group, and kids crisis hotline. The camera pulls back on a wide shot of a quiet community street with the sun shining down through the mature trees.
It's about people and how they have the power to change one another's life for the better.
The title of the movie, which would most likely be nixed by Hollywood, is simple: Touch.
Cam Tait is a sports reporter for the Edmonton Journal. He covered charitable issues for almost 20 years. Thoughts, comments, ideas or a simple hello are welcomed at cam@charityvillage.com.
Opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CharityVillage.com®.
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