Inspirational words from my boss!

Ted Hope is one of the cofounders of This is That, where I now intern. He is a passionate advocate for free and open filmmaking, and what I find most inspiring is the way he puts these ideals into practice. Our office is a community, with many smaller offices we rent out to other production companies. We share ideas and thoughts, and everyone is welcome. It’s the exact opposite of cold and money-driven.

An example of this attitude: one of the higher-ups in the company called her assistant last week from Italy to wish her a happy Rosh Hashana. That kind of humanity is missing in so much of this world, and its lack is especially tragic in an industry that calls itself art.

I just read Ted’s acceptance speech for the trailblazer award at the Woodstock Film Festival – truly inspiring. Take a look at the speech in its entirety on the Tribeca website.

• We won’t unlock the full potential for narrative unless we break the wall between art and commerce—the project and its marketing—and as artists engage not just in content and production, but also in discovery, promotion, and appreciation.
• We won’t have artists who can afford to create and engage unless we compensate them fully and shed this notion that content should be free but we should pay huge fortunes for the hardware that stores them.
• We won’t have a way to access and offer truly independent work if we don’t have a free and open Internet—true net neutrality.
• We won’t be able to find the unique and personal work, if we don’t all take on the responsibility of curating for our family and friends.
• We won’t have an exhibition industry if we don’t make a point of getting out of homes and sitting together in the dark to enjoy movies on the big screen.
• We won’t have that exhibition industry if we don’t just simply stop showing movies but instead return to putting on a real show.
• We won’t have anyone but the rich making movies in this country if we don’t have affordable education and health care.