Director: Lanze Spears
Approached to me by the film's director Lanze Spears, I was humbly invited to watch a viewing of his documentary film "20 Something". Traveling city to city and sleeping on the floor of friend's apartments, Lanze's dream was to tell the story of other struggling 20 Somethings who are passionately committed to achieving their dreams.
Each part of "20 Something" takes us face to face with young adults who give us different fresh perspectives on their dreams meeting the realities of the world around them. From Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Anastasia is an aspiring actress who faces where and how she's working to break through into the indie genre. In Atlanta, Georgia, an artist Sean paints his life on his canvas, determined to bring the segregated art scene together. Residing in Savannah, Georgia, Clare shows what it's like to be an aspiring model but also having more settled dreams in advertising. And aspiring actor Mike turns his dreams of working in front of the camera to behind the scenes. Rounding out the group is Taylor from Manhattan, an artist who markets himself through web work and striving to make the world more environmentally equipped.
As a fellow 20 something who balances work, school, and home priorities, it's an inspiring journey to watch "20 Something". Getting to where we want to go requires no minimal amount of networking, facing our individuality, marketing ourselves against our peers, and finding collaborators to make it to the big time. There are days we ask what are we doing it all for, where are we going, should we give up. So many take a different life direction than their intended goals while others refuse to quit with the path they've chosen. You see others in this film as passionate to their dreams as you are to yours. It's an experience to see that you are not alone on what we feel is a long fork-filled road for others are striving just as hard.
From showing how we kick back in the clubs at night to staying the course, "20 Something" is a wonderfully composed film. The film doesn't make a show out of daily struggles but organically explores them. From his tireless commitment to make his film, it has been screened at major film festivals and gain award recognition. In a world where times are sometimes too tough to keep going, I think anyone who sees it will connect to a situation and feel inspired to keep moving forward.