I Am (2010 American documentary film)
| I Am | |
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| Directed by | Tom Shadyac |
| Produced by |
Jennifer Abbott Dagan Handy |
| Written by | Tom Shadyac |
| Narrated by | Tom Shadyac |
| Cinematography | Roko Belic |
| Edited by | Jennifer Abbott |
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Production
company |
Homemande Canvas Productions
Shady Acres |
| Distributed by | Flying Eye Productions |
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Release date
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Running time
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76 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
I Am is a 2010 American documentary film written, directed, and narrated by Tom Shadyac. The film asks the question: "What is wrong with the world, and what can we do about it?", and explores Shadyac's personal journey after a bicycle accident in 2007 that led him to the answers "the nature of humanity", "the world's ever-growing addiction to materialism", and "human connections" Shot with Shadyac and a team of four, the film contrasts sharply with the director's notable comedic works.
Shadyac suffered post-concussion syndrome after a bicycle accident in Virginia in 2007, experiencing months of acute headaches, hyper-sensitivity to light and noise, and slept in a closet due to chronic tinnitus that lasted beyond a six-month period. It was this constant ringing that the doctors could not treat that led him to suicidal thoughts. The injury followed the cumulative effects of previous mild head injuries Shadyac had suffered surfing, mountain biking and playing basketball.
A 2011 New York Times article stated that "the symptoms of a concussion [didn't] go away. Something as simple as a trip to the grocery store was painful for Shadyac, whose brain was unable to filter various stimuli. Shadyac subsequently gave away his excess fortune, opening a homeless shelter in Charlottesville, Virginia and making a key donation to Telluride, Colorado's effort to set aside a natural area at the town's entrance. He reoriented and simplified his life, sold his 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2) Los Angeles mansion and moved into a trailer park – albeit the exclusive Paradise Cove park in Malibu.
As medical treatments failed to help, he isolated himself completely, sleeping in his closet and walling the windows of his mobile home with black-out curtains. Later, as his symptoms finally began to subside, the director wanted to share his inner quest in the way he knew best: through film." Shadyac likened the experience to Dante's Seventh Circle of Hell.
In the film, Shadyac conducts interviews with scientists, religious leaders, environmentalists and philosophers including Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky, Lynne McTaggart, Elisabet Sahtouris, David Suzuki, Howard Zinn, and Thom Hartmann. The film asks two central questions:What’s Wrong With the World? and What Can We Do About it?. It is about "human connectedness, happiness, and the human spirit", and explores themes including Darwinism, Western mores, loneliness, the economy, and the drive to war. The documentary includes animated scenes explaining scientific concepts, as well as clips from the films Wall Street and It's a Wonderful Life.
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