Creating the documentary I Am was an ambitious undertaking; it set out to explore the edges of one man’s personal crisis, and ended up exploring the edges of a crisis of humanity.

Perhaps the last thing you’d expect from the guy who brought us gems such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor, and many other screw-ball comedies would be I Am – one of the most impressive and inspiring films to date about how we can change the world for the better.

Tom Shadyac and crew hit the goal with flying colors.

Moving from math to the mystical and finding a graceful flow of the transcendent grounded in biology, a few pertinent questions are expressed and explored until a surprising larger question emerges and is addressed.

Through interviews with some profoundly powerful and inspiring people such as Desmond Tutu, Coleman Barks, Noam Chomsky, Lynn McTaggart and many others, we are offered scientific and spiritual proofs of a truth both revolutionary and basic; we truly are all connected.

As opposed to many films on important topics, there is a greater focus on empowerment toward the desired outcome than on the cause of distress. I Am is an amazing piece of art and inspiration.

Shadyac and crew are touring with I Am. After the showing I attended with a couple of friends, Shadyac held an amazing Q and A . This added to an already very full experience, as did seeing the film in a theater surrounded by people of various levels of like mind.

If you have a chance to see I Am it with Shadyac in the house, do. It was fully worth the four-hour drive (round trip) that me and my friends made. (Yep. Worth that.)

Tom Shadyac’s schedule:
March 11, LA
March 18, NYC
March 25, D.C.
April 1, Boston

If your local theater hasn’t shown I Am yet, request it. While you won’t have the opportunity to interact with Tom, you will have a chance to take all your friends and see it together. And then spend the rest of your evening figuring out what to do with the information you’ve received.