As we gear up to put all the pieces together for our next feature film project, “One Hand Clapping,” I am reminded why we have chosen to put this particular film on the front burner. Believe it or not our company actually has several projects we could activate, but this one seems appropriate for several reasons.

First, as much as I like living in California I still do have a soft spot for Texas, where I grew up. Texas is a special place, and that is where ‘One hand Clapping’ is set. We will be attempting something with this film that may not exactly be that easy. Mixing a small town Texas feel with the concept of reincarnation. When I recently told that to a friend of mine, she looked at me sideways and said, “Really? C’mon, that feels like a bad mix.”

I thought about that moment and replied, “As opposed to what?”  Knowing that she also believed in reincarnation, I added, “Do people only reincarnate in California or big cities?” She laughed, and marked one up for me. She then added, “No, but how are you going to sell that to all the rednecks in Texas?”

That irked me a bit, but then I relaxed and thought some more. Loving challenges, I replied, “I guess we will have a challenge there, but that just motivates me more to do it.” And finally, I finished, “You know there aren’t just rednecks in Texas, and also there are rednecks in California and actually all over. Plus, they aren’t our demographic, but if they want to be I would welcome them to check out what we are doing. We don’t like limiting our audience to preconceived notions.” I might add here that my friend had never lived in or ever been to Texas. So, all her ideas were tied to all the commonly promoted stereotypes of Texas.  Anyway, second reason, we are doing this for the challenge.

If you have been reading this blog and seen “Dreams Awake” then you are quite aware of my interest in the worlds of metaphysics, mysticism and spirituality. While “One Hand Clapping” won’t have as much overt ‘out-there-ness’ (as some would call it) as “Dreams Awake, it will have its share of it. It will just be more covert than overt. And I am personally intrigued by reincarnation, how it could work, and where we can take the idea. And also, would probably question the why of it (if I could). So, that is reason number three.

As much as we can talk about reincarnation, the heart of the story is really about the Texas family we explore. The three grown brothers, the father and the grandson. Yes, a bit male-centric, but we have a couple nice supporting women’s roles. I grew up in a large family, the oldest of seven, which included six boys. So yes, as has been asked by several people, I am drawing a few things from my own personal experiences. Of course, the story is fiction, but the characters are partial composites of family members. However, there is no one character who is any particular character in my family. That might be a bit close to home, plus I needed to add (and subtract) certain character traits to make the story and the drama work out how I envisioned it. Fourth reason, it’s personal.

And finally, the last reason. Going from the personal view to the universal view. Telling larger conceptual stories on a smaller personal canvass. Taking a big (maybe even controversial?) idea and narrowing it down to real life characters. And having those real life characters presented with and grappling with those larger ideas, and seeing how that plays out for them. Will they take it on and grow from it, or reject it and stunt their growth? And just maybe, you can personally take something away from this for yourself. That is what we will be taking on with “One Hand Clapping.” We hope you hang out with us, and see how this journey progresses.

JAD

(Note: the term ‘one hand clapping’ comes from the old (and popular) zen koan – “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” It basically is a mental exercise used to quiet the mind and make it easier to meditate, as actually the mind eventually figures out there is no real quantifiable or qualifiable answer. However, we explore the actual possibility of a type of answer in our film ‘One Hand Clapping.’ )

For more info:

waytogomedia.com

onehandclappingmovie.com