Filmmaker Statement

As the son of a preschool educator, I’ve been exposed to many children’s books and how heavy some of them can be. This made me realize that we teach our youth basic principles of life like: being a kind person; sharing; dealing with your emotions in a productive way, etc. But as adults, we often lose sight of these lessons. So why not feed stories written for children, back to adults via the medium of narrative filmmaking? I think we could use the refresher. Maryah Greene released her book at a time when I was doing a lot of gardening and thinking about my late grandfather who taught me everything I know about plants. As the primary male role model in my life, losing him as a young teenager left me feeling just like Malcolm, lost and like I was drowning. And after reading “Good Things,” the script just poured out. I know how it feels to be a boy whose idol was taken from him too soon, and I cherish the power of connectivity mother nature can provide. My personal attachment to “Goo