Come, Make A Film With Me and Discover the Meaning of Life

June 10, 2012 11:52 am 0 comments

Viktor Frankl. Photo: Prof. Dr. Franz Vesely.

What is the meaning of life? Why are we all here? Is there purpose to our existence at all?  Human beings have been asking these questions since the beginning of time.  Geeze, I ask this question to myself EVERY day.  In Victor Frankl’s famous book, Man’s Search for Meaning, he writes “The meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected.” Victor wrote Man’s Search for Meaning originally in German in 1946 and the book has sold more than 12 million copies.  Obviously Victor was on to something when he posed his own questions asking “what is the meaning of life?”  We all search for meaning and find different ways to execute it. It is a constant quest that can be detected, which is why I am so excited about my upcoming project that promises to ask this question and search for answers in a very different and innovative way.

Many of my readers know I have devoted many of my creative endeavors to the search for meaning and purpose.  For years I gave a class on this very subject inspired by my dear friend and mentor, the famous author and speaker, Simon Jacobson who wrote “Towards a Meaningful Life,” (Editor’s note: Simon Jacobson is the publisher of The Algemeiner.) I have worked with countless teens and adults all searching for their mission and purpose and have spoken to hundreds of people on this very subject throughout the years.  It’s no wonder Nationlight productions asked to partner with me on an incredibly daring mission to attempt to find the meaning of life using film as a medium.

Nationlight Productions, is a production company that has dedicated their projects to create positive messages with films like “Everything Must Go” with Will Farrell, “Cafe” with Jennifer Love Hewitt, and “The Buddy Story” with Elizabeth Moss from Madmen.  When Marc Erlbaum, the President of the company reached out and asked me to join his team in creating a website that would have a year’s worth of content featuring celebrities, musicians, entrepreneurs, and spiritual guides in webisodes all geared to detecting the search for meaning, I couldn’t say YES fast enough.

It’s not enough to create engaging short films and interviews, more than anything we want the world to travel this road WITH us.  Which is why, we’ve decided to create a campaign that will allow full audience participation in becoming searchers with us. The point of this endeavor is not to tell everyone what we think the meaning of life is, but rather to allow the world to discover it together, collectively in unison. When we ask questions together, when we search together, then we can find those answers together.

As Victor Frankl says in his book: “Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”

In other words, we all owe it to each other to find these answers out for ourselves collectively and individually.  The hope is to partner with the world in the most incredible discovery man has ever attempted to make on the worldwide web.

For the next few weeks, we’ll be bringing you wonderful interviews of celebrities, musicians, writers and spiritual guides who will be participating along WITH YOU to get this project up and running.  The point of this project is not just the actual website or the films, but the journey we are taking together globally to galvanize each other into making this dream a reality.

To find out more and to get involved check out our crowdfunding page where you can become a searcher with me:

Let’s not just talk and meditate, let’s ACT NOW- TOGETHER!

Leave a Reply

Please note: comments may be published in the Algemeiner print edition.


More...

  • Arts and Culture Blogs Jonathan Ames, ‘Herring Wonder’ and HBO Series Creator, Does Israel

    Jonathan Ames, ‘Herring Wonder’ and HBO Series Creator, Does Israel

    Writer Jonathan Ames, creator of the HBO television series “Bored to Death,” is known for his fearless and exhibitionistic persona. One can find YouTube videos of him eating herring and boxing at the same time, having knives thrown at him by a person called “Throwdini,” and ranting drunkenly at an awards ceremony. And when it comes to writing, Ames’s essays tend to cover racy topics. Given these exploits, it’s a bit surprising to learn that Ames’s recent trip to Israel [...]

    Read more →
  • Arts and Culture Beliefs and concepts Jewish Presence in Contemporary Art

    Jewish Presence in Contemporary Art

    The Jewish presence and identity in the contemporary world of art is one truly worth noting. At the 3rd annual conference of “Jewish Arts & Identity in the contemporary world” in Baruch College’s Jewish Studies Center, at a panel entitled “Jewish Ways of Seeing: The Visual Arts and the Jewish Tradition”, the Jewish impact on the creative world is exemplified through the discussion of artist Audrey Flack and her various works. Flack was born in 1931 to a fairly Orthodox [...]

    Read more →
  • Blogs Features Black Jazz Musician Encounters Mixed Reactions to Subway Renditions of Hatikvah, Hava Hagila

    Black Jazz Musician Encounters Mixed Reactions to Subway Renditions of Hatikvah, Hava Hagila

    At first you may be skeptical of Isaiah Richardson Jr. He doesn’t look like somebody who would be playing Hava Nagila for passengers waiting for their train in the subway. Firstly, he seems too young,  and secondly, he’s a black kid from the Bronx, dressed sharply, derby hat and all. But when upon meeting Isaiah, the 32-year-old ticked off “Hevenu Shalom Aleichem,” “Bashana Haba’ah,” and “Zum Gali Gali” as some of his favorite songs to play passing crowds, I knew [...]

    Read more →
  • Blogs Music Mother’s Day Performer Blends Israeli Independence and the Jewish Side of Verdi

    Mother’s Day Performer Blends Israeli Independence and the Jewish Side of Verdi

    This Mother’s Day, the music of opera singer Sharon Azrieli Perez will integrate the varied threads that have made up the fabric of her life. Perez, in a Mother’s Day concert May 12 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, will weave a musical experience that brings together intimations of Israeli independence, Giuseppe Verdi’s use of Jewish melodies, medieval Ladino music, and modern Jewish show music. These musical elements are particularly personal for Perez, whose Juilliard education has [...]

    Read more →
  • Blogs Jewish 100 Social Harvey Weinstein to Elie Wiesel: Without You There Would be no ‘Schindler’s List’ (VIDEO)

    Harvey Weinstein to Elie Wiesel: Without You There Would be no ‘Schindler’s List’ (VIDEO)

    Famed film producer Harvey Weinstein presented Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel with the Algemeiner newspaper’s ‘Warrior for Truth’ award at its recent star studded 40th anniversary ‘JEWISH 100’ Gala. “My mother, the Miriam of Miramax […] was so thrilled when she heard that I was presenting to Professor Wiesel,” Weinstein said as he called on the professor to accept the award. “I am happy to be here on the Algemeiner’s 40th anniversary and to celebrate their top 100,” Weinstein added. Commenting [...]

    Read more →
  • Israel Sports Israeli Soccer Star Victim of Anti-Semitic Abuse on Twitter

    Israeli Soccer Star Victim of Anti-Semitic Abuse on Twitter

    Israeli soccer star Yossi Benayoun, who currently plays for FC Chelsea in the English Premier League, was recently the victim of anti-Semitic abuse on Twitter. After thanking his Twitter followers for sending him birthday wishes, Benayoun, who many consider to be the greatest Israeli soccer player ever, was sent the following message: “f***in Jew a**hole.” Benayoun posted a response, saying, “Some nice people in the world.” His team has called on the police to investigate the matter, according to the Britain’s [...]

    Read more →
  • Arts and Culture Blogs Gary Baseman and The Jewish Home “The Door Is Always Open”

    Gary Baseman and The Jewish Home “The Door Is Always Open”

    This weekend, a retrospective of the works of Gary Baseman titled The Door Is Always Open, opened, at the Skirball Cultural Center. ‘Door’ recreates the artists’ childhood home filled with famous Baseman characters and Jewish subjects peppered about. Baseman has had a long and successful career with iconic characters and big clients to fill his CV, but recent works are the first time he is dealing directly with his Jewish identity and the value that it holds for him now. [...]

    Read more →
  • Blogs Jewish 100 Social Algemeiner ‘JEWISH 100′ Gala: Album 2 – Program, Speakers and Awards (PHOTOS)

    Algemeiner ‘JEWISH 100′ Gala: Album 2 – Program, Speakers and Awards (PHOTOS)

    Read more →
Sign up now to receive our regular news briefs.