Friday, October 26, 2007

Idahoans celebrate diversity

Special Olympics film educates and inspires


By SABINA DANA PLASSE
Express Staff Writer

Photo by Mark Stone Special Olympics softball athlete Sara Patterson reveals her star quality difference.

At a unique event to promote the 2009 Special Olympics Winter World Games in Idaho, Bex and David Wilkinson opened their Gimlet home to Special Olympics supporters to premiere the short film "A World of Differences." The film was produced by Bex Wilkinson's Frida Productions and Matt Gershater of Ben Reel Productions.

Wilkinson and Gershater teamed up to create a film not only to promote and educate individuals to the Special Olympics, but also to reveal and express the importance of this event in Idaho. Gershater and photographer Mark Stone traveled 1,200 miles of Idaho to shoot 20 hours of footage and 1,800 photographs to create a 32-minute film revealing the beauty and diversity of Idaho.

"The amount of people who will view this film is a big project," Gershater said. "I've done larger films, but the magnitude and the amount of people to reach with this film is amazing. And I got to do it with my best friends."

One of those friends is musician and valley resident Paul Cox, who wrote the theme song for the film "We Can Make A World of Difference." Stone is donating part of his photography sales revenue to the Special Olympics.

For Idaho, the Special Olympics means being on the world map, said Gershater. The world will be looking at Idaho, which is why the team behind "A World of Differences" wanted to highlight people with differences.

"People with differences connect the state," Gershater said. "When the world games come, everyone will be connected with the event. We hope that schools and programs around the state will send athletes or bring students to attend the games and be a part of the event."

The film asked more than 40 people five questions about what makes them different as people. The subjects include Wood River Valley residents such as actress Mariel Hemingway, The Community School teacher Harry Weekes, Sun Valley Adaptive Sports Executive Director Tom Iselin and Special Olympics athlete Grant Swindle, as well as the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games co-chairs Jim and Pirie Grossman.

In addition, there are interviews with people of all ages and walks of life from several Idaho towns and destinations, including Special Olympics athletes who are shown competing in bowling and softball tournaments in Idaho.

The Grossmans were in attendance for the premiere of "A World of Differences," after just arriving back from the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China. They spoke about the film as part of their educational outreach for the state of Idaho and cultivating funds to do it.

"We have our work cut out for us," Jim Grossman said. "The focus on education is for Idaho. The education of a Special Olympics Athlete never goes as planned. They have to learn over and over and no matter the consequences they have to be let go and trusted, which is memorable and heart-warming in a way no one can envision."

The film will be used as an educational tool in Idaho schools for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The rocking and groovy high energy of "A World of Differences" will not only entertain kids, but will also, most importantly, teach them some very basic ideals about celebrating what makes people different.

"At the end of the movie, everyone in the film is laughing," Gershater said. "We didn't tell anyone to do that."




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