Directors Matthew and Daniel Kooman recently spoke with Occhi Magazine about our new documentary series Dream.
You can read the full interview here.
Excerpt:
Hi, Matthew and Daniel! Thank you for granting the interview. Congrats on your new film Dream. Tell us what inspired the documentary.
Daniel: Dream is a project that has been in the works for a long time. As filmmakers, we see it as the culmination of the journey we’ve been on since we began telling stories. Since our first film E for Everyone,where we traveled to Kenya, India, Thailand, and Malaysia to ask 9 questions about needs and happiness, our films have been about making a real-world impact. As a result of that, we’ve met amazing people, including several featured in Dream. I had been traveling to Tanzania since 2006 and visiting rural villages and refugee camps. One of the themes that emerged when working with children in poverty, was this idea of learning how to dream for the future. One of the first questions we faced was whether it was even possible to dream for the future when faced with extreme poverty and loss. But then we began discovering the power of redemption. Seeing beautiful dreams come to life, even out of broken people that began to have a hope for their future was part of the inspiration for the film.
Did you have to do any specific research for the documentary?
Matthew: When we were doing our research one of the things we focused on was the definitions of a Dream. ‘Dreaming’ is a huge topic. Dreams can be thought about in so many different ways from something that happens when you are asleep, an aspiration or hope for the future, or a delusion, a fantasy. With a foundation of what a dream is, you can begin to ask the question, ‘What is a good dream?’
Another part of our research was around the possible subjects for the film. We wanted to focus on the side of a dream that inspires us. To us, good dreams are things that extend beyond a personal aspiration and are inclusive of a greater goal than self-satisfaction or a personal feeling of fulfillment. A good dream realized can change lives and bring restoration and create significance. We really looked for subjects who were pursuing meaning in an inspiring way.
Meet Milka. She wants to be a doctor. This is a story about her #Dream.
We had the privilege of meeting her in Tanzania and learning about her life.
Today Milka’s dream of attending University is becoming a reality through a unique partnership with the Dream Elephants initiative, which exemplifies the power of purpose and calling in association with our dreams.
About the series:
A child soldier. Grammy-nominated artists. A Rock and Roll legend.
Everyone has dreams. DREAM is an episodic series following 9 inspiring stories of children, women and men from around the world.
The very act of dreaming requires risk. DREAM reveals the stories of famous and everyday people and takes a look at successful, aspiring and lost dreams.
The series seamlessly weaves the life lessons and dreams shared by famed interview subjects with the storyline of aspiring youth from Africa and North America. DREAM suggests that you either live your dream or you live somebody else’s, and the series challenges viewers to create dreams big enough to build their life upon. Because even the smallest dream, when connected to your purpose, can change everything.
Learn more about the inspiring project and Season One on the Dream page on our site.
